#i think i've figured out a good process for reading and getting pics and making these posts!

[feekins]

wheeeeee ch 1 - the prologue to another wild arc! here are my thoughts and things and whatever translation weirdness I find as I begin my re-read of Trigun Maximum vol 4!

(NOTE: I'm reading the Dark Horse [physical] and the Overhaul [online] translations side-by-side)

I love how domestic and hopeful this volume starts out. the mounting horror and hardship makes you appreciate such peaceful times that much more =u=

(Dark Horse on left, Overhaul on right)

this feels rly important, too, how hope starts sinking in for Wolfwood when he learns about how they've been sending these transmissions back to Earth for almost a century. imo the Overhaul's wording choices do a better job at conveying that hopeful infiltration - 'WILL this happen' VS 'CAN this happen' and then we have Wolfwood's prayer.

both translations have an "amen" on the very next page, so either way, you get the sense that there's a prayer going on...but I think that the Overhaul wording it like a prayer gives what Wolfwood says here more impact, at least for me. Dark Horse's translation feels...idk, like Wolfwood's still clinging to some cynicism? like...the focus isn't so much on hope as it is on staying alive. the Overhaul, meanwhile, gives you this sense that something within Wolfwood is changing. he still has his doubts, still has his guilt, but now, genuine hope has taken root.

that's what it feels like to me, anyway.

so then HOW!!! FKING!!! BEAUTIFUL IS IT!!! that the very next thing we see is Earth establishing contact!!!!!!!! 🥹

(Dark Horse on top, Overhaul on bottom)

interesting translation discrepancy here - acknowledgment/being aware of one another VS reuniting.

this difference in which bits are attributed to who is interesting, too. here's how Dark Horse puts it...

...VS how it is in the Overhaul.

waaahhhhhhhh Sempaiiiiii 😭

something I didn't catch previously - here we see an illustration of some more of Vash and/or Knives' abilities as plants: ① sensing one another (and/or their angel arm use?) from extreme distances and ② an angel arm affecting minute things (like causing a glass to crack) from an extreme distance......or, y'know, taking out a fucking satellite.

oh and I noticed that Dark Horse p consistently has Knives referring to humans as "trash" or "garbage" whereas in the Overhaul, he consistently calls us "insects". that's an interesting distinction - waste or that which is dirty VS pests that are beneath him and in need of extermination.

(side-note: I believe there's a Studio Orange interview transcript where they talk about tristamp Knives seeing humans as insects?)

no comment here, rly - just putting these up for comparison

"people will worry" VS "I don't want to make people worry" - the Overhaul doing a better job showing Vash always putting others first

(also this whole exchange between Vash and Brad reminds me of Roberto catching Vash as he's about to leave town at the end of tristamp ep 1)

and it's so sweet how, at the end of this arc, Brad is so concerned about Vash leaving! he even seems to be over Jessica's crush on Vash, going like "hey, at least say something to her!" we love that good, good character development! Brad is such a good bean 🥹

...the translation discrepancies here have me scratching my head, tho;;;;;

[newttxt]

hi quip! i really like your one piece comics and i am curious how you do them! i'm not good at comics and want to be better at drawing them! how do you learn how to make comics?

thank you!

uh oh... im afraid u have caught me at the perfect crossroad of "bored at work" and "unrelated task ive been meaning to do but keep putting off."

this is long. i hope you like reading (and grayscale progress pics). and of course!!! disclaimer before we begin that this is just how I, personally draw comics. there is no "right way."

quip's comic-making process!

Switching my typing to make this more legible...

My process can kinda be broken down into 6 steps:

Brainstorming

Thumbnailing

Sketching

Panels & Text

Lines

Tones/Colors

1. Brainstorming

My brain is a leaky sieve on a good day, so I sloppily jot down ideas in my phone notes the moment I have them. This helps me when it's time to draw too, because if I feel art blocked, I can look through old concepts and see what catches my interest.

Otherwise, I love drawing for other people's writing. :) And if worst comes to worst, doing manga/comic page redraws in my style teaches me new things every time.

Once I have my idea, I'll usually make a bulletpoint list of "plot points" or "story beats" I want. Then I plan the comic with this format that I've adapted from a tutorial I read once. I'm going to use my most recent comic (original comic post) as an example.

I start in the third column, writing notes of what I'd want to see in each panel. I also include the dialogue (in this case, I didn't have to write the dialogue! it's from the fanfic linked in the original comic post!). I usually write the whole name like [Luffy:], but at this point I've drawn so much of these guys, just the first letter works.

I like to handwrite these notes to get an idea for how much text I'm putting in a single panel.

After I describe all the panels, I go back and separate them into pages. I can't tell you how to know how many panels to a page. It's whatever works for you. I just kinda know about how big each panel will be, and so I can feel when I'm probably running out of space. (Also. You can change things later. I don't in this example, but I add/drop pages/panels all the time.)

2. Thumbnailing

Thumbnailing—as the name suggests—should be done tiny. Too tiny to accidentally get sucked into details.

This is about marking down blobs where items/characters go, and figuring out the paneling. I'll draw and redraw these a bunch of times too.

This is also the most time-consuming/brain-working part for me. If I were in a zine that did progress percentage, I'd try to finish thumbnailing around the 50% mark (but I'm also a moderately fast artist, so your mileage may vary).

I think the terrible quality makes them charming, actually. I really like how silly they look. :')))

I will add, when you draw your "page" rectangle, make sure it's the same proportions as your actual canvas for the final image. You want an accurate idea of how much space each panel will take up, especially if you have a lot of text.

3. Sketching

This is my most recent change to my usual workflow, and it's saving me a lot of time. I make my thumbnails a bit bigger (each one about half the size of the final canvas), and I sketch these basic body forms right over them.

It just helps give me placement for my actual lines!

I usually draw these in a paleish color so I can lower the opacity and not get distracted by them while lining. The random darker parts are to either help keep two forms separate (like when two characters have their limbs all over) or to better define sections that were too sloppy/poorly proportioned.

I also think this helps my poses stay looser, because I have more dramatic/wriggly shapes that aren't too bogged down by proportions yet.

Sidenote: I CANNOT show this here, but sometimes this is when I take videos. Of myself. I prop my phone camera up and shoot a video of me acting each panel. :/// It looks really dumb, but it also shows me fun body language ideas like hand gestures, expressions, weight distribution, etc. Just pretend you're an overdramatic cartoon character, and try not to worry about your roommates or mother walking in on you doing odd things. (You can also use the video for anatomy reference later, but I usually just capture the vibe and don't try to copy the actual video frame.)

4. Panels & Text

Oh, boy. So, the panels are usually just straight lines (though it's fun to make creative exceptions, like a round panel to mimic looking through a spyglass), but there are some fancy rules that I don't strictly adhere to.

I believe (I have no technical training in this. Take everything I say with a grain of salt) the vertical gaps (between two side-by-side panels) should all be a consistent width and the horizontal gaps (between two panels on top of each other) should be another. The vertical ones? Should be thinner? Because you want the eye to easily glide between them, whereas the horizontal gaps should be a visual barrier to keep you from jumping ahead. Just something I've vaguely noticed.

There are lots of fun "default layouts" you can look up. Or keep it a consistent grid. I think it's fun to sometimes have characters/objects sticking out of panels and overlapping others. This is just a matter of taste, creativity, and inspiration. (Read Witch Hat Atelier... It has some of my favorite paneling...)

You may also notice I have already done the speech bubbles. This is, to me, a crucial step. This helps me catch early if I don't have enough room for all the words. It also lets me plan the art in each panel with the speech bubbles in mind. There's nothing worse than working really hard on a panel, and then you realize there's no room for the bubbles.

I also try to lay them out in a way that guides the eye! Even without art, can people tell where to go next? Better yet, if I want people to look at panels out of order (aka not left to right, in my case), can I use the speech bubble path to make them? Here's just a vague example of what I mean.

As an added bonus, doing speech bubbles early also allows me to be lazy! :) Ignore the comic; I'm not supposed to post it yet oops,, There's a whole lot of drawing to do on each comic page, and I am not wasting my time on stuff that will be covered up. So yes, if I hide my bubbles, there are a lot of unfinished lines trailing off into nothing. (As a bonus, if there's a part of a character you're struggling with—and it won't look weird to do so—you can move speech bubbles to just hide the problem area yayyy)

Making the actual bubbles could be their own whole tutorial, tbh, but there are some general guidelines I use.

Zoom out when you choose your font size. You want to know how it will look to the average reader, so it isn't super teeny tiny or way too big. You generally want to keep the same text size for all your pages/bubbles.

When I draw bubbles, I try to size them about one vertical letter height (and some change) around the words [left side]. This isn't always the case though, because humorously large or funny shaped text bubbles can convey different feelings [right side].

On Procreate, I set my bubble lines to Reference and just drag-and-drop the white fill on a separate layer below the lines. (Remember to turn Reference back off again when you're done, or your fill bucket won't work right when you're drawing.)

To get the white outlines I use to keep the bubbles from cluttering up the art, I literally just Gaussian blur an all-white copy of the lines + fills... and then I copy and merge it 5 times until it's opaque enough. This is a terrible way to do it, but it works for me. :')

5. Lines

This is the part that I can't tell you how to do. I literally just. Draw right over my wacky sketched body forms. Boom. Comic drawn.

I'll make three suggestions:

Don't focus on making every panel perfect. Give a little extra love to big ones or ones you want people to linger on. Otherwise, know that people are typically speeding through the art. It's way more important to focus on storytelling than art technique. In my opinion, a good story that's told well will always be better than a beautiful one told poorly. (Some comics are beautiful AND well-written... Alas, I am just a hobbyist who needs to get the ideas out of my head at top speed.)

Put your background lines on a different layer. Put your foreground lines on a different layer too, if you have those. Basically, I try to keep the main part of each panel (usually a character or object) on my lines layer so I can erase background/foreground/etc lines to ensure clarity/focus.

You can make background lines lighter colors too. I have too many numbers sorry. (1) Background. The stuff that's farthest away. Lightest lines. Few details; more focused on shapes and the suggestion of a background (I'm not good at backgrounds). (2) Midground. Same distance away as the characters are. Lines can be black. (3) Also midground, and also the same distance away. But they're very detailed, so I lighten them so they aren't so distracting. (4) The characters. Black lines for focus. For people who haven't seen the comic, I swear they are just hugging. This is SFW. D:

6. Tones/Colors

Do not. Do NOT ask me. I don't understand colors. I hate working with them, but I try because I want to improve. I hate doing anything beyond the simplest grayscale shading. Please go elsewhere for your coloring/tone advice. This is how my color picker looks 95% of the time. I have pre-set "percentages" of black that I got by lowering the opacity of a black layer and just color picking it. I don't even know the exact percentages I used. Good luck out there. Be better than me.

7. Sharing

This is a bonus step that I didn't mention earlier, but it's actually the most important of all of them.

You need a friend. Or maybe a groupchat or discord. A family member or coworker if you're really close like that. I don't know.

Find SOMEWHERE you can spam wips and be cheered on. Drawing comics takes a while, especially if you're trying to tell longer stories than I'd dare to attempt. If I don't force someone to praise me for every line I draw, I shrivel up and die.

Also if and when you post online, add alt text. I'll admit I'm the first person to complain and drag my feet on this, and I literally use a screenreader myself when my eyes hurt (strong prescription glasses wearer). Comics should be accessible, because stories are fun and everyone should be able to enjoy them.

***

Learning???

And I guess lastly, how do you learn to make comics? Two steps: 1) read them and 2) make them. This is the tragedy of creating things.

1) Reading them: I grew up reading comic strips, western serialized comics, and webcomics. I've always loved graphic novels too. Then in late middle school, I started reading manga (Death Note and Haikyuu were my first two), and now I'm trying to read more webtoons (sorry im so slow bree)!

I also... mass-consume doujinshi, thanks to proxy mailing services and bilingual friends/Google Translate/knowing some Korean. (I have an entire bookshelf of doujin, actually,,)

The thing is, it's not usually enough to just read comics. You also need to be thinking. :/ I notice paneling, comic devices, clever comedic timing, etc. as I go. It's just a lot of studying/learning while also enjoying the story.

2) Making them: You just have to start. :( Even if you think they're "bad." My first comics were actually just drawings placed randomly all over the page, connected by speech bubbles (yay... I was already practicing how to place bubbles to lead the eye around the page...). I was going to post a pic here, but I'm a coward. Backscroll my account and you can find some older ones though.

I also know my art in general improved dramatically when I did ten comics in ten weeks for my friend's fic. Don't do this. It hurt my hands/wrists. But do practice in moderation.

***

If you actually read all that... I hope it made even a modicum of sense. And maybe it was even helpful? Just know at the end of the day, there is literally no right way to draw a comic.

And if you aren't ready to go for it yet, you can start by just adding a couple speech bubbles to your illustrations or doodles! It's a way to add storytelling and dialogue writing to things you may already be making.

Yay. I love comics. :))))

[chevvy-ryder]

[NC_RES]-13062047-EUR-BU-NED de_wit_m_portraits_030_1_MM_DT_PCFA.file ///core:_thyjs_de_wit.file\\\

—

⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform nor for ai, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated.

"Een Militech Chimera is voor mij geen probleem." — Thyjs

I've been working on this approximately a month as I was uncertain how I want it to be in the end. The shots are from November 2023 when I was in my focused game play bringing Thyjs into Dogtown.

I loved the scenery after the Chimera is slayn already when I went through with Arki in my first playthrough but with Thyjs I wanted to take some special pics, thinking he's super good in exterminating a Militech Chimera. So I placed him onto it after the machine got slayn and thought why not make Thyjs pull the last remaining energy left of that big machine to load his cybernetic arm up with energy again when that big fight was over.

I love the tiny electricity effects and even spawned some more but it wasn't sadly enough so I was forced to add more later in post processing with lightning brushes. I've spend an immense time on getting the lightning to look good enough and probably worked on this set (and another I'll post later) over a month after work until I was finally satisfied.

The the idea stroke me to add more: bokeh, fire, dust, make all a bit blurry and well that's the result. This has been sitting in my drafts since more than a month as I always try to figure out when to post best, but there is no best time, so if you read and see this: I eventually managed to hit that button.

This is the first time I can actually really show what Thyjs is able to do. That electricity he can use is insane. I wish it was able to play like that ingame.

[theleastprofessionalchef]

Ah jeez, I started making this post end of May and saved it as a draft so I could come back with the recipe, and fully forgot to do that for uh. Yeah. A long time. I've since made a few more batches of successful mead, and have a couple more fermenting right now! I'll reblog with pics of them later.

Well! better late than never. Leaving what I'd written initially unchanged, so-

-

Two months apart - start and end - my first successful batch of mead! I've tried a handful of times over the years, but had an unfortunate habit of doing... SOMETHING wrong each time that resulted in lightly sweetened cleaning alcohol 😅

But finally, a success! Real mead! Sweet, but not too sweet, and boozy enough without being straight up moonshine

Recipe:

Roughly three pounds of honey

3? 4? Of those little mandarin oranges, quartered

1 packet ale yeast, I used this

Various whole mulling spices, I used a stick of cinnamon and a few cloves this time, but I've also tossed in cardamom pods and anise occasionally, maybe a couple peppercorns. Go wild

So much filtered/distilled water. So much. Like two gallons?

I'll be real folks, I used a cheap shitty online guide that I don't remember the link for, that said it was a good basic way to learn how to make garbage mead and that any brewer worth their salt would cringe at. It is also coincidentally the same guide I used years ago in the aforementioned cleaning alcohol incident; I haven't changed what I used or did, so I honestly don't know why that came out bad and this good. Shrugs! Yeast can't read.

Dissolve the honey in warm/hot water. Not boiling- you don't want to kill the yeast when you add it in. Think a nice, warm shower. Stir it well, add the oranges and spices, and mix in the yeast until also dissolved.

Load it all up into a large glass container like the one pictured. I ordered a carboy online for this, which is the 'proper' thing to use, but you can honestly get away with an old milk jug you've thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, if you again, don't care about it being the highest quality. Carboys come with the fermentation/filtration Thing on it to let gases out and nothing in (the little doohicky plugged into the top of the lid) but you can also get away with stretching the mouth of a balloon over where the lid would go and poke a teensy hole in it with a needle. The goal is to let the gases that build up during fermentation escape the container, but not to let outside air in.

Fill the container the rest of the way up with water, but leave a couple inches of space on top. This thang's gonna bubble like crazy once the yeast start feeding, and you don't want it to overflow and make a mess of your cupboard.

Put it in a dark, cool space, and wait a few days!

It'll bubble a lot those first days; DON'T mess with it. Leave her be. Let her have her hot girl summer. After a few days, maybe a week, it'll calm down a bit; now you can top off the water supply.

Fast forward uhhhh two months or so, and it's done! There's a more legit way to know for sure when it's done that involves watching the tiny bubbles that form near the top as part of the fermentation process, and figuring out when they'll stop, but I'm impatient and don't know jack and am here for a good time not a long time.

Enjoy mead! And maybe do some better research than I did if you want something fancy.

OH AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT STIR IT WHEN YOU GO TO DRINK THE FINISHED STUFF

You'll want to scoop the fruits and spices off the top and then siphon it off into another container, or do what we did and simply ladle it off the top (because on a ship of 10-13 sailors, 1 1/2-2 gallons of mead won't last longer than an off day), and NOT drink the detritus off the bottom. You can kinda see it in the picture above. It is not like unfiltered apple cider. That stuff tastes gnarly.

Do not shake the mead before drinking.

[elvenbeard]

I'M SO RIDICULOUSLY HAPPY RN IT'S UNREAL

ehehehehehe, summer vibes intensify :3 I'm not done with this just yet, I wanna put them both in the more colourful patterned versions of these shirts (once I've decided on who gets which XD) but yes.... I'm so happy!!! Some silly intermediate progress pics and rambles below the cut!

Dad Shirts by @pinkyjulien 💛 Sweater for Nibbles

SO. My whole thought process behind this really was "cute summer pics with Vince and Kerry :3" but none of Kerry's default outfits scream "summer vibes" to me. Also maybe I just wanted to put him in the ridiculously short hotpants, because I love the look on Vince xD

Sooo... this is my first time making an NPC appearance though, so tutorial time! Super nice to follow and beginner friendly, even though WolvenKit is still overwhelming af. But at least at this point things are starting to make more sense to me than they did two days ago xD

Now, after fiddling and testing and trying and following the tutorial just fine (messing up a few times because apparently I can't read as well as I thought), I ended the night with this:

Right shirt, wrong colour, couldn't figure out how to change it XD But a good start! Also put him in his 2023 shoes and pants, because the hotpants and sandals, even though both vanilla, weren't cooperating in the way I thought. Basically..... invisible legs and feet Kerry, which was funny, but not the look I was going for xD I think... maybe it had something to do with the appearance I used as a base? But your guess is as good as mine, I decided to call it a night and start over from scratch with a different, less complex appearance as base XD I still love the vibes of this look though, I might play around with it a bit more :3

Several fruitless attempts later, I finally ended up with this! xD For some reason I lost his face cyberware somewhere along the way though, but fuck yeah, he has legs and feet again! And stole V's shirt, again!!! (god I'm so so so happy now that I know how this works, I'm gonna make him so many outfits with that shirt. the storytelling opportunities!!!)

While I was fiddling with V's T-shirt I figured out how easy it is to change mesh appearances by pure accident xD So, put the dadshirt mesh back in, change mesh-appearance to the colour I want and BAM! Success!! I was jumping around in my chair like an idiot but yes... I'm so happy rn XD Tired, but happy, and a tiny bit smarter about all this than before.

What I love about this outfit, besides the aesthetics (TM): He's wearing his dangly jewelry, which a lot of custom outfits I've come across don't seem to have, but I love the chonky gold chains a lot (so does Vince, they're good for grabbing >:3). And he's wearing one modded clothing item (dad shirt), one player item (hotpants, definitely borrowed from Vince), and his own flip flops from the bathrobe outfit xD

Finally, accurate picture of me trying to do learn this with the trial and error method:

But hey... it worked :D Probably not... in the cleanest way, I'm sure the way I snuck in that dad shirt is more the Bethesda "it just works" approach, but eh... since this is for my own personal fun times and not for anyone else to ever look at, I'll take it XDD

[ideasatemynights]

I headcanon that newt used to be self conscious about his weight but stopped caring after awhile

Oh yeah definitely, I 100% agree with that!! I've thought A Lot about Newt's relationship with his weight as someone who's fat irl and is also pretty similar to him in personality according to irl people I know, which definitely leads to the Projection. Some general sorts of headcanons about this (warning for internalized fatphobia, disordered eating, and just a fair amount of self hatred below. Also I wrote this in one big block in the middle of the night, so it's going to be kind of incoherent.):

☆Absolutely is someone who's always been naturally chubby/fat. He didn't really think anything of it when he was really little because he looks like his dad and uncle and they're so cool and he loves them so much!! He was always more focused on catching cool bugs and playing Godzilla with his dad and uncle anyway.

☆Once he got to be a little bit older in school, he definitely started feeling insecure. He already had a target painted on his back because he was too smart, too loud, too passionate, too rude, basically too ND for all the other kids and even the teachers (not helped by the fact that he was always ahead in school), so his classmates absolutely started picking on him for his weight and probably his height too. Because of all of that, he started feeling really bad about his body and wishing that he looked different.

☆This also intersects with my HCs about Newt being trans and his relationship with his mom. His mom was the only person in his family who was more thin and conventionally attractive and because he was AFAB, before he came out she basically just wanted to use him as a doll to parade around and show off on the rare occasions she actually saw him and because of that she tended to be critical of a lot of aspects of his appearance. There was a lot of her fussing over him and telling him that he should diet, grow his hair out, be more proper and less messy, dress more feminine, etc, which didn't help his self esteem. Once he came out as trans, she basically just stopped talking to him altogether.

☆There's also a lot of fatphobia in trans spaces, medical gatekeeping based on weight, belief that fat people can never be read as their correct gender, lack of gender affirming products for fat trans people, etc, which also doesn't help.

☆Once he started at MIT (probably around 15 based on canon info??), he was even more in the spotlight because he was known very publicly as a prodigy, was in a lot of news articles and stuff, won a lot of awards, etc, which added a whole other layer of scrutiny from the public to his appearance. He was also pretty isolated from same age peers because of it, so when he did get to socialize with them, his naturally poor social skills were even more atrophied because of it. Because of that, he was subjected to even more weight based bullying than he would have been otherwise, which did an additional number on his self esteem.

☆When Newt started writing with Hermann, he never would have admitted it, but he was kind of happy that Hermann couldn't see him. He had kind of reached a point where he assumed anyone would immediately write him off because of his appearance and particularly his weight and he was so happy to finally be able to make a friend who couldn't dismiss him based on the way he looked. He knew that Hermann could definitely find pics of him online, but he was hoping that the relationship he built through writing would cancel out the way he looked (obviously a super unhealthy thought process, but uhhh). The fact that the first healthy relationship Newt had ever had with a peer was also with a guy who didn't originally know what he looked like also unintentionally reinforced some bad body image stuff.

☆When Newt figured out he was falling in love with Hermann, he was even more terrified of Hermann learning what he looked like. Like he hadn't had a good track record with making friends or people affirming his appearance in the past, but he uhhhh especially hadn't had a good track record with romance. He had been rejected a lot and when someone had gone out with him, they were clearly using him for easy make out sessions and the sort, while not really caring for his personality or appearance in the slightest (and oftentimes making digs at them). Newt was certain Hermann wouldn't do that, but he was still convinced that the only way someone could like him was despite his weight and he was terrified that Hermann wouldn't like him enough for his personality to cancel out the difference (once again, not true and definitely unhealthy, but he's having a real bad time).

☆So they finally meet in person and it goes poorly. It had nothing to do with Newt's appearance and logically he knows that, but there's still some small deeply unkind part of him that's convinced that Hermann took one look at him and decided he was too fat and ugly to even consider staying in contact with, much less dating.

☆(In actuality, Hermann took one look at him and instantly thought that he was the most attractive man he had ever seen in his life. He desperately wanted to press Newt up against the wall and grab his love handles and kiss every inch of his mouth and face and neck and chest he could get his hands on. Being Hermann, he was deeply mortified by having such lewd thoughts about a colleague, especially one so obviously attractive to him, which definitely contributed to them both being incredibly awkward and off their game while meeting.)

☆By this point, I think Newt's in a really bad place mentally with his body and his relationship with his weight, so I think he ends up in a depressive episode for a while. This has the side effect of killing his appetite and so he ends up losing some weight which is really not physically healthy for him, but he feels a sick sort of pleasure in anyway. When he meets back up with Hermann when they're both stationed in HK, Hermann is still fucking pissed at him (just as Newt is likewise), but he's also legitimately worried about Newt because he doesn't look well by the standards of his body. Hermann ends up eventually asking about it, which only pisses Newt off and honestly brings up a fuckton of trauma for him and also causes Newt to believe that Hermann really is disgusted with him and his body.

☆As the war rages on and rations get tighter and they start working longer and longer hours, Newt loses even more weight which once again causes a sick sort of pleasure in him, despite logically knowing as a biologist that this is in fact very very bad for him and his body. He never intentionally tries to restrict food or lose weight, but he can't help feeling some pleasure at being so much more thin than he's used to. By the time the movie starts, he looks like he actually does in it, where he's soft around the edges, but not fat anymore. Hermann doesn't bring it up both because it's the result of the last days of war and because last time Newt got very upset, but he watches from the sidelines and is very worried about him.

☆When Newt drifts with Hermann, there's a lot of surprise on Newt's end that not only does Hermann like him and not only is Hermann actually in love with, but Hermann actually likes his body in its natural form when it's treated well. In fact, Newt is kind of stunned at how attracted Hermann was to him at their first meeting and the fact that while Hermann would be attracted to him at any weight, Hermann definitely distinctly prefers him fat and healthy and happy. This also causes Newt to realize that Hermann was legitimately concerned about him when he asked about his eating habits, etc, and that maybe the way Hermann treats him is the way he should have been treated all along.

☆Now this obviously doesn't fix everything in one go because a lifetime of trauma doesn't just go away overnight, but going to mandated therapy post war helps, along with a healthy relationship with Hermann, more time to relax, the ending of rationing and the entire world recovering, etc. He eventually gains all of his original weight back and then some and Hermann is so fucking in love with his incredibly handsome sexy fat husband and his wonderful mind and personality. Like don't get me wrong, they're still complete bitches to one another, but they adore each other and work through their insecurities together and it's wonderful.

Once again, I'm writing this at 3 am, so I'm sorry if this doesn't make any sense. Also forgive me for the huge block of text, you unlocked A Thing I Go Insane About.

[foxgloveinspace]

@thoseeyeslikefire @absentviolet @kyloreno-911

It's another LONG w.i.p. Wednesday! Explanation for why I haven't been making these, I guess:

took a week off in October cause I didn't feel like taking pics, then we had company and I didn't have time to do it, and then I got sick, ugh. But now I'm back and I'm gonna try to do these when I can again, possibly not every week, maybe every other week, cause I want to spend more time reading and writing this month if I can. (it's gonna be my first 'real' NaNoWriMo. Where I have a goal and such).

first off, the confession. I frogged the cardigan part of the og skulls cardigan. I kept looking at it, and looking at it, and I went 'I'm never going to wear this, I'm just doing it, to do it'. It's gone through like, three other iterations that I haven't been talking about cause I was really just trying to figure it out. I've finally found something I'm excited about making, which is a pieced together cardigan of double crochets, where on the right side rows I crochet through the back loop only. I'm feeling very inspired by this, especially since I could work on this even when I was super foggy from having a cold. Sadly, it did not get done in time for Halloween, but also I didn't intend for it to be just for Halloween. Hopefully this is something I'll wear all winter. It's my main w.i.p. rn and I hope to get it finished this week, so I'll post finished pics when I get it done.

and another 'wellllll there was a goof' project, lol. I messed up the left sock of my hocus pocus socks. so I decided to frog it, since then it would be easier to make the heel flap and gusset of the right sock! so! i then paused the first sock until I can catch up on the second sock, and when they are both ready to knit the foot, I'll pick them both up to knit two at a time again. I just haven't been able to knit very much cause of the foggy head from my cold. But! I am really happy with these and hopefully I'll have them done before the end of the year.

I picked back up the pass the honey cardigan! mostly cause it was easy knitting while I was, again, foggy from the cold..... wow. Any way, I know it probably doesn't look like it, but I did get some progress done on it, I think like two or three pattern repeats? I wasn't sure I wanted to continue it, but then I had the thought of 'it looks like dragon scales, not just honey comb' and now I love it lol. It's my dragon scale armor now.

and now! my birthday shawl!! (The Gaia Shawl) I only did the first bit on my birthday cause I was DETERMINED to get it started on the right day. I am loving this yarn and how it's working up, and I am really liking the little bit of the pattern I've worked at well. I'm not worried about how long it takes me cause my birthday shawl last year was being worked well into January. It'll be there when I feel good enough to work on it again. The only problem is that the pattern website keeps freezing.....

small yarn haul time!

the multi colored yarn is from one of my mom's friends actually, she has sheep and she goes through the entire process with it, and I got it from her 'booth' at the Heritage Days festival in Warsaw (which is no where near where I live). I have no idea what I want to make with it?? I'm thinking a hat and some socks maybe? it is a fingering weight yarn. Definitely the hat first, and then if I have enough yarn left over the socks. It's so soft and squishy, and I really love it.

and then the blues are for a project for my sister in law.... she kinda volunteered me for it, but it'll only take me a couple days at most. It's for a pixie from Harry Potter. The yarn is nice and soft, and I guess I'm looking forward to the challenge, but also she's just...... It's complicated.

And that's it from me! Thanks for reading <3

[daisygreenartisans]

March Happenings

Hello! I blinked and here we are, March 7th; it was the 1st when I made the first draft of this post.

Anyway, there's a lot of stuff I want to get done this month! I've been able to gauge what I can do, and I would like to share with you my plan.

Graphic Novel Progress

So far, I have published 4 children's books, and this time around I am going to try something a bit more vigorous and challenging. I've inked that this month I am outlining the sketches and fully rendering the prologue (it will be ~20 pages.) The more I get done, the more information I will share: in fact, in a few days I will make a post about it. If I decide to be more ambitious, I will let you know, but that's it so far.

2. Furniture Painting

I'll be painting 2 pieces of furniture---they're twins. :) Similar to my novel, I'll post the process + finished product. Since the designs are big, I don't think it will take too long... maybe a 2 days at least or a week at most. We'll find out together, haha.

Sorry the pics aren't great, I'll post better ones for the side-by-side later on.

3. YouTube Video

I would love to post a video this month, since it's been a hot minute. How would you guys feel if I talked about novel inspiration and the current process? I may or may not actually speak during this video. As much as I want to give the viewer the option, my soundscape is not up to par.

Also, if there's something you want to see me post to YouTube, let me know! I have a few ideas, but it's a time-and-place sort of thing.

Small Talk

While I have you here, I figure I might as well have a nice little chat with you. :) These aren't pertinent to anything, so if you want to move along, go ahead. From the bottom of my heart, to anyone reading this, I hope you are doing well, and I hope you continue to do so.

Radio Silence in my Socials

I'm not chatty. That's pretty much just it. I do my best to follow a routine, so my days are fairly monotonous, especially when I'm working on my projects. The balance between my personal/work life is pretty good. In the end, life's all about maintaining and upkeep, or advancing and innovating. I'm content with my output in both those categories, such as learning, menial tasks, cleaning, creating, etc., satisfies in both ways. Which specific outputs take precedence over the others depend on the day, and that's where my major schedule change takes place. All that to say, nothing too interesting or noteworthy goes on, so I just wait until something new happens. That being said, if you have a question or have an idea about something I can post, please do let me know! I am online, though.

2. Standalone Art Pieces

Goodness, I'd love to post some standalone art pieces. I'd love to make them. However, if I think about it too much, I get too many ideas and they become something bigger than I originally intended. To combat this, I've got a digital zine in the WIP list to get me out of my head. Keep an eye out for it, but I will tell you to keep a better eye out for it waaaaay later this year.

3. Personal Happenings

I love spring! I'm very happy we're in this season, and I've been spending as much time as possible in the sun. Coffee in the morning while note-taking and writing is probably my favorite part of the day. A cool breeze hitting me when the sun is warm is where my world stops. I am so much more appreciative of everything. I love grocery shopping, folding laundry, moving furniture, learning, exercising, taking care of my family. All that is awesome. Life is truly beautiful. Once summer rolls around, however...

Nothing super interesting. I like chores and planning. It's not interesting to discuss, though. If I do, I'll share.

Take care!

[vintagelacerosette]

Artist/ Fic Writer Interview

I was tagged by the magnificent darling Chrissy @you-are-so-much-better-than-that who came up with the artist questions, the sensational sweetheart Harvey @mikhailoisbaby & honeypie Willow @ian-galagher thank youuu 🥰

1. Do you post on Ao3? If so, how many works do you have on AO3? If not, where do you post?

I don't post my art on ao3 but on tumblr 😊

2. What is your total art count?

17 🎨

3. What are your top 5 pieces by likes/kudos?

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do respond by liking them bc most comments are in the tags & idk should i respond in the comments? lol

5. What is your current fandom, and what was the first fandom you drew for?

Current fandom: Gallavich & First fandom i drew for & shared my art is Gallavich but probably first fandom was maybe soul eater

6. Have you ever received hate on any art?

Not hate but a complaint on my gallacrafts for theme 11 I'm fucking gay. I got an anon asking why I made the lesbian flag & put the phrase I'm fucking gay & i that should have just done lesbian although I had actually made both but it was on the part 2 bc i had a limit of 10 pictures.

7. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t drawn for yet but want to?

Maybe Spirk or Soul x Maka from Soul Eater

8. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Gallavich most definitely, they hit all my likes in a ship plus they're canon & married to boot! #spoiled 😆

9. Do you draw outside of fandom?

Yeah I started getting back into drawing with makinng flowers for mutual's birthday 🥰 I've also made little mascots of baby animals for my niece's baby shower

10. What’s the an art piece you’ve drawn that came out completely differently than you expected?

Probably the GGE2022 for Macy. I had some other ideas. Also their poses were gonna be different like it was either the back of them looking at snow or tumbled into the snow on top of an ny roof top but still not the best at figure drawing so i just did the best of my abilities 😄

11. Do you draw smut?

Not yet but one day 😏

12. Have you ever had any of your art stolen or copied?

Not that I know of

13. Have you ever collaborated on a piece?

No but I think it could be fun to do 🖼

14. What’s an idea you have that you have yet to draw?

Snow king Mickey & Snowflake fae Ian that was gonna be my 2nd choice for the GGE2022 but i loved making fanart for Macy 🥰

Crop top Ian & Mickey in Ian's ROTC hat

Smoo fae Mickey in Ian's arms from a reference pic i saw here

15. What are your drawing strengths?

Faces, hair, blushing & colouring maybe?

16. What are your drawing weaknesses?

Poses, hands & backgrounds

17. What’s your favourite art piece you’ve drawn?

I would say my good omens au I simply adorethe little details I put into the drawing. I referenced Mickey's outfit in Ian's delete scene dream. Ian's outfit is 7x10 just in darker colours. I loved being able to create Ian's ombre eyes by colour picking Cameron's hazel ones. Ian's hair shading. The heart wings & being able to creat the wing texture on the angel wing. AND their signature shows with the timberland & bright read air forces!!! I had such a fun time drawing this 🥰 Also it was my 100,000 post lol

18. What is one thing you’d like to tell people about your art that they might not know?

My gallavich art is the first time I've been colouring my drawings. When I drew a lot in high school I would just do the line art & was too hesitant to colour them.

19. What inspires or motivates you to create for fandom?

Definitely you guys! Being able to make you guys smile. As well as your creations & the creating events 💕🖌

20. And finally, can you describe your process a little? Do you have a favourite place to draw? Do you play something in the background? Do you do research or just go for it? Give us a little insight.

I do like to crawl up into a hunched ball on the lounge couch or my bed (which should stop bad for posture lol) Then I do enjoy playing YouTube video essays about internet history/horror games I'd never play or movie reactions.

Also, I am more of an artist who researches & and works with many references. I got a whole lotta unclosed tabs of Ian & Mickey, body poses & clothes that i forgot to close lol.

So I’m not a fic writer yet! 😉 But here are the interviews questions if you guys wanna ❤️

Fic Writer Interview

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

7. Do you write crossovers?

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

15. What are your writing strengths?

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I’m tagging these twinkling hearts if they wanna play 🥰 @mrsinistertype @crossmydna @friend-bear @darthvaders-wife @psychicskulldamage @divine-gallavich @very-sleepy-head @deathclassic @celestialmickey @depressedstressedlemonzest @suchagallabitch @bekkachaos @ianandmickeygallavich @milkoviched @grumpymickmilk @gallavichgeek @annatrow @sisitrip @lalazeewrites @imikhailotakeyouian @look-i-love-u @suzy-queued @y0itsbri @mishervellous @filorux @jomilky @auds-and-evens @xninetiestrendx @beebabycastiel @bravemikhailo @arrowflier @shameless-notashamed @adakechi @skies-below @takeyourpillsbitchh @mikcrymilkovich @tsuga-of-mars @ardent-fox @you-show-me-love @wehangout

[snek-panini]

I'm somewhat late posting this one, since I finished it a couple of weeks ago, but this was Binderary Book #3! A bind of Pray for Us, Icarus by Atalan. I'm not sure this fic needs any introduction from me, but suffice it to say that it's wonderful and involves retelling the events of canon with a memory loss twist. It's one of those fics that exists in undeniable conversation with canon; you can't really separate it from the canon without losing a lot of meaning. This fic is so good it gives me story hangover when I read it. It gets pretty angsty in parts but has a happy and totally satisfying ending.

I tried so many new things with this bind, and most of them came out really well! I'm a little in love with it. More pics and process talk below the cut!

One of the reasons I waited to post is because I never got a response from the author when I reached out about binding this one. That's only happened to me once before, and last time it was on an orphaned work so I expected it. Hopefully they don't mind that I've posted pics.

The cover on this one is faux leather. It was my first time working with it and I loved it. Feels really nice, looks beautiful, holds a fold well (this brand, anyway), and takes glue and embossing powder like a champ. The front has a 3D cutout that I made with layered sheets of thin cardboard, then covered over with leather and pressed into the corners. That's another first for me (my other cutouts were all 2-material windows) and I loved it so much I did it over again on my next bind (not done yet--pics are coming). I did press too hard and tear the material in one spot; the gilding around the title is there to cover that. The other issue I had was with the rose stamp on the front cover--turns out this stuff is way more slippery that I expected, and it got shifted while I was pressing it, trying to get the details to take.I didn't notice this until after using the heat gun, at which point it was too late to re-do it, so now I'm living with it. Not ideal, but we live and learn.

Top view, spine, and endpaper. The only design choice I made on this volume that I'm not nuts about is the blue endbands. They're...fine. But I didn't have one available that was better, and I haven't taken the leap into making my own yet. They're not that bad, I just don't love them.

Title on spine! This is another first, possible because of the material. The book cloth I usually use doesn't play nice with the embossing powder so I can't use it on the cloth spines that I usually prefer. But the faux leather works fine with it, so I went for it here.

Endpapers are scrapbook paper, a really nice shade of light green that didn't shop up well in the photos. Trust me, though--they look fabulous with the green ribbon bookmark and the brown leather. Rich and warm and lovely. The case on this fits really well, which is something I continue to struggle with. At first I thought it was too big again, but in hindsight I think it's perfect actually.

Interior shots! I...still need to up my game on the title pages. I did for the bind that came after this one. I find I like the box though. Keeping that.

The illustration next to the chapter title is a sprig of rosemary. Memory loss is a major theme in the story, and the quote "rosemary for remembrance" comes up prominently in the first chapter, so I thought it was appropriate. There are a lot of flowers and plants in this story, and I really wanted to feature all of them, but finding coordinating artwork of them all was too big of a challenge so only two made it in: the rosemary and the rose on the front cover. The rose was a rubber stamp and the rosemary was a free image I found online; all I did was resize it. The same image appears at the beginning of each chapter. I finally figured out how to prevent Word from making all my images blurry, so there will be more included artwork like this in future binds.

That's a wrap! I love this bind. Like a lot. I want to show it to everyone I know but I don't want to explain fanfiction to them so it's here. My next Binderary bind is almost done and will be shared in a few days, (it needs its cover attached and to be titled) and then I owe someone an author's copy before I launch into another fanbind. I already have plans for it though. Can't sit still too long.

[rollercoasterwords]

have you watched bones and all??? i would love to see ur thoughts

(just in general tho i would love to hear you talk more abt cannibalism)

i have not! it hasn't been released where i live yet i think the only english movie showing at the theater in my city rn is the new marvel movie.

gonna be honest i was not feeling the bones and all hype bc i've mostly just been seeing pics of bloody timothee chalamet which does nothing for me lmao but after receiving this message i just watched the trailer and then went and read the plot summary and UMMMMM yeah i need to watch this now. fascinating fascinating concept omg it reminds me a LOT of the movie "raw" this looks fantastic so so so much to think about like [spoilers + rambling below]

ok the fact that some people are "born" eaters??? potential for queer analysis abound also just enamored by the concept of people or creatures or beings who are fundamentally destructive like the fact they literally NEED to eat other people to exist brings up so many questions....do they deserve to live? can they be good people? is it possible to live without harming others? honestly makes me think about the yeerks from the animorphs series lmao but also reminds me of questions brought up in one of my favorite favorite books "a history of glitter and blood" where part of the world-building is that it takes place in this city where gnomes and fairies live together but the gnomes also eat the fairies sometimes and it's just like...an accepted part of life. and of course there's "raw" where we get the same idea of a girl who was born a cannibal and has to decide whether to suppress this urge or allow it to flourish which is just SUCH an interesting concept ugh

also very interested in the gender dynamics based on the plot summary like. it sounds like we get this main character cannibal girl who essentially spends the movie running into different men and trying to figure out how to live her life through their guidance, but each man seems to represent something different....like these are just messy thoughts right now but i'm intrigued by the fact that we get her father who abandons her bc he can't deal with it right, we get the older guy who tries to present her with a new set of rules for how to live life as an eater, we get timmy who seems to be struggling to assimilate but also at certain points is sort of dragging her down a dark (and homoerotic!! the field scene?? omg) path...like the implications of that whole scene and its queerness where he cruises to find a victim and then it seems like after that they ultimately decide to try and assimilate and like...the queerness is inherently suppressed with the suppression of the cannibalism right?? like they're trying to live as a regular heterosexual couple but they CAN'T....omg also the fact that her first act of cannibalism is biting off her girl friend's finger--sorry but that is homoerotic SORRY but the cannibalism is inherently bound up with both character's queerness. and the cannibal mother trying to eat her cannibal child? mother as the source of monstrosity? it seems like the cannibalism is almost like...inextricably bound up with femininity for our main character and we get all these masculine disciplining forces throughout....also maybe this is a leap but i'm thinking about the way consumption is often gendered as a specifically feminine horror like. the fear of someone taking you into their body and consuming you....thinking about the vagina dentata and the movie "teeth" and the ways in which typically we think of penetrating someone else's body with yours as a masculine act but cannibalism inverts that because suddenly the person taking your body into themself is destroying you in the process...also the blurring of bodily borders and identity and love...that ending!!!! god so much to think about i definitely need to watch this movie now

[tomwambsmilk]

3, 5, 8 for the succ asks!

3. shiv pulls you aside and asks if you think there’s “anything weird” going on between her husband and greg hirsch. what do you say?

Ooh, that's a toughie. I think what I would say would depend a lot on how much I knew... If I'd actually seen something super incriminating, affair-wise, I would tell her. As fun as it is for me as a succ viewer to root for the extra-marital affair, irl I would see that as a serious thing and I wouldn't feel comfortable lying about it. (I don't know that I'd go out of my way to tell her though... not my circus not my monkeys etc. And yes I know they have an open relationship but I'm assuming I don't know that.) But, if all I've seen is what we've seen on the show? I think there I would be a LOT more hesitant to say anything, if only because it's all Subtext and it's VERY possible to read that wrong. Probably I'd shrug and say some variation of "I don't know, they are really close I guess but I've never seen anything sketchy going on there."

5. willa invites you to a boozy saturday brunch. jess invites you to after work drinks. either way, you know you will be getting some crazy waystar tea, but you can only accept one invitation. which do you choose?

Oh, Willa 100%. For one thing, I need ALL the tea on Connor's presidential campaign and his evolving platform, but also I think Willa and I would get along really well, and I do want to talk theatre with her. She might not be able to write good theatre but she definitely appreciates a good play, and I think that would be an even bigger draw for me than the Waystar gossip tbh. I need her opinions on the "American Psycho" musical and whether or not she prefers the London or the New York cast of "Heathers". Who is her favourite Elphaba aside from Idina Menzel? Thoughts on Andrew Lloyd Webber, and what does she think is the thing he's done that's most worthy of public execution? That's what I REALLY need to know.

(Also I do love a boozy brunch, it must be said - a boozy brunch will always win over evening drinks for me.)

8. you are roman roy’s most trusted confidant. he asks if you think he’s afraid of pussy. what do you say?

This one is so context-dependent... I'm assuming that he's asking seriously, and he's also told me about his relationship struggles to this point. My go-to approach when I'm trying to help a friend work through something is not to straight-up tell them what I think, but to ask them questions until they figure out what they want or what the situation is - mostly because I'm not them and I don't want to put words in their mouth. So, I'd probably start by saying that idk that 'scared of pussy' is really a good way to put it, and then start asking him questions like what do you mean by that, exactly? Do you think that it's the prospect of sex that's making you anxious, or is it the intimacy? Are you attracted to women? Do you think you might be attracted to men? What is it about Gerri that you like? Would you actually ever want to have sex with her?

Because Roman is Roman we'll get maybe five minutes into this process before the introspection makes him too uncomfortable and he makes a shitty joke and tells me to fuck off, but I also think he'd keep rotating it in his mind and maybe it will help him figure something out. Or maybe not. Either way, he'll probably send me a dick pic out of spite

WHAT WOULD YOU DO: the succession ask game

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

thoughts and asks

some notable thoughts and answers to asks that I figured I would compile into one place, either because I felt they were general enough to apply to many, are funny, answered specific questions about my work, etc

not an extensive list. I answer a lot of asks. I should be better about this section of my blog, but alas...

-----------------------------------------------------------

disclaimer: not a doctor, psychologist, therapist, sex therapist, etc these are just thoughts coming from a noggin, pls don't come for me

-----------------------------------------------------------

mental health + life.

pain and self-harming thoughts, 2021.04.22

when does it get better, 2021.06.10

dealing with burnout, 2021.12.15

self-doubt + becoming who you want to be, 2021.12.16

about mistakes, 2021.12.19

intrusive thoughts, 2022.01.02

weight insecurity and feeling comfortable in your body, 2022.01.04, 2022.01.08

quitting your job with no back-up plan, 2022.01.26

social anxiety and job interviews, 2022.01.27

friends growing apart, 2022.01.28

what it means to "get help" and why you feel bad when you're having a good day, 2022.02.01

about BTS's "hiatus", 2022.06.14

will everything be okay? 2022.06.24

negative self-image, 2022.10.21

three pinnacles of (long-distance) relationships, 2023.04.23

self-harm relapse, 2023.06.25

feeling tired / exhausted / burnt out, 2023.10.18

organization, 2024.09.29

about dirty talk + language barriers, 2024.10.14

thoughts on male misogyny? 2024.10.21

the lie of "conventionally attractive", 2024.11.05

sex.

how to make dirty talk less awkward, 2021.09.17

saving or waxing down there, 2021.10.26

feeling late to relationships / sex, 2021.11.08

"what does it feel like to get your nipples sucked", 2021.11.18

insecurity + lady bits, 2021.12.19

mystery of the female orgasm, 2021.12.27

about edging, 2022.01.04

what does cum taste like, 2022.01.04, 2022.01.04

kissing? 2022.01.12, 2024.09.06

bigger dick = better sex? 2022.01.31

is it bad to watch porn? 2022.02.12

f-receiving oral, 2022.03.16

can't get off without porn, 2022.03.17

explaining a dom drop, 2022.10.29

BTS's favorite sex positions (not yet researched), 2024.07.20

would BTS be into casual relations, 2024.07.20

cum loads and semen science, 2024.07.21

relationship between dick size + hardness, 2024.07.22

BTS: sex positivity + who is most horny, 2024.07.22

first time? + tips, 2024.08.16

blowjobs 101 + some advanced techniques, 2024.08.17

logistics of standing sex, 2024.09.08

shower sex, 2025.02.05

my writing + me.

how I think when I write BTS in intimate situations, 2021.04.23

someone had a fever dream about me and it's the best thing I've ever read in my life and I must immortalize it here, 2021.06.10

a nice dream ft my blog XD, 2021.06.20

about me, 2021.07.01

my favorite series I've ever written, ft quite possibly the greatest couple on the internet, 2021.07.01

what is the kind of love in 'the days without you', 2021.07.19

top tier meme, ft me, 2021.09.21

my process as a writer, 2021.10.10, 2021.11.30

my experience with studying psychology, 2021.12.18

me and my BTS biases, 2021.12.18

[behind] 'dionysus', 2021.12.31

'not allowed' AU: do the other members know?, 2022.01.05

my sexuality, 2022.05.25

how I got my confidence, 2022.05.27

30 my fav sexy BTS pics, 2024.09.15

notes about 'fill with fire, exhale desire', 2024.11.04

my view on BTS-centric sex-related asks, 2024.11.29

-----------------------------------------------------------

☆ click here for main masterpost ☆ click here for drabbles masterpost ☆ click here for prompt list

[coquelicoq]

Damon Williams: In addition to this large excitement that I think we'll talk about much more throughout this conversation, there also is this feeling of being naked or being exposed. Because we did not expect 2020 to be the year of uprising and the year where abolition was being talked about on CNN or wherever else. And so now people who think not abstractly or people who think in concrete terms want to know, "Well, then, what do I do tomorrow if you're talking about doing this tomorrow now?" And so, do you feel any of that exposure or any of that nakedness of there are so many things that need to be built with practice? So many things that are going to take lessons and are not going to be immediate, but people now want immediate solutions that we were not six months ago tasked to have?

Mariame Kaba: Yeah. That's a terrific question, honestly. It is a really good question. And I want to say that one of the things that I've learned over the years or that I've cared about most over the years in terms of myself as a PIC [prison-industrial complex] abolitionist--I've always been interested in what we're building. That's been a big part of why I do the kinds of things I do and why I built the kinds of containers I've built over the years. It's always interesting to me to think about the how of things, the strategy of how we get from where we are to where we want to go. I don't feel extra pressure to give answers right now, but I feel a responsibility to have more people make more things. I've been talking to folks about the importance of us building a million different little experiments, just building and trying and taking risks and understanding we're going to have tons of failure, and failure is actually the norm and a good way for us to learn lessons that help us. [...]

The freaking tech folks and the people who are running the banks talk about failure all the time. They normalize that. It's only on the other side of folks who are interested in social transformation and change where failure is not supposed to be a spoken about or a sign that you're horrible or that your ideas don't have merit. I just want us to be building a million different experiments. That's what my energies are focused on in this moment. I read a tweet from someone a couple weeks ago who goes by ZenMarxist on Twitter. They wrote something like, "People want to treat 'we'll figure it out by working to get there' as some sort of rhetorical evasion instead of being a fundamental expression of trust in the power of conscious collective effort." I thought that was so good. We'll figure it out by working to get there. You don't have to know all the answers in order to be able to press for a vision. That's ridiculous. I hope people aren't feeling that kind of pressure, but I do hope people are feeling a sense of wanting to make a bunch of things. I want to try a bunch of things. And maybe the resources will be there this time to actually make that work.

Daniel Kisslinger: And I think so much of the discomfort with that experimentation, the idea of we need a product to sub in for this other product, is this very capitalist mind-set around it, of this is not about process. We hide the process; we hide the labor of it. And then what do we present to the public as our final thing? And the logic of that is in some ways dehumanizing. It's like you should have already had your factory model built for this. No, we're saying stop building factory models where we know what the widget is. Liberation isn't a widget that you can design the pathway toward.

Mariame Kaba: Exactly. Part of the problem with policing, prisons, and surveillance is that it's a one-size-fits-all model. Angela Davis says this perfectly--there is no one alternative. There are a million alternatives. And the issue is to figure out which alternative works for what situation. I don't like to use the word alternative, but I will in this case. It's like what works for this particular situation that we're in? What works for these people? How are we going to actually address this based on human needs? These are the things that we're interested in as PIC abolitionists. I think that makes us actually again incredibly creative. Always generative. And also not afraid, again, of failure.

Mariame Kaba, "'Community Matters. Collectivity Matters.': Interview by Damon Williams and Daniel Kisslinger" in We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice

Original talk was on episode 253 of the AirGo podcast, July 2020

(The tweet she's referencing is here)

[trashiewrites]

The Clueless Bachelor and Bachelorette

(Bruno Bucciarati x Reader)

An: hey everyone, I know this is very different content then CoD but I do want to extend my reaches to other fandoms! I'll still be writing CoD but I'll also reach to maybe other games and anime. I hope yal all enjoy my first published Jojo Fic.

There a lot of responsibility when being a Capo for Passione. Taking orders from the boss, controlling a specific area. The last thing Bruno expected when to deal with constant female attention.

Ahh yes, at the prime age of 20. Perfect age for once to start looking for a partner. Undoubtedly, upon the bachelor's list was his truly, Bucciarati. He really couldn't deny that he's attractive but to say he comes with perks was an understatement. If one was to look at the list it would be quite easy to see that.

Walking down the busy streets of Naples with Girno was even a chore. Next thing a group of young women will be walking down the street "Bucciarati!" To look over at a groupie and see the one that (in his opinion) wasn't very attractive waving at him. He wishes he could ignore all of it, but he has a reputation to keep.

"Girls really have been after you huh Bucciarati?" Bruno look back to the newbie, his brow frowned in the slightest hint of annoyance.

"Tell me about it Giorno... I don't know what happened but I've been getting called at by women all the time now." In the distance again, hearing his name be called. This time he wasn't even bothered to look, he just waved. "I mean at first the attention was nice but I can barely go outside without a woman trying to seduce me."

"I feel that, the curse of being pretty I guess..." Giorno shrugged, Bruno could only sigh. "Let's head back to the others, at least give you a break from outside."

"That sounds like a splendid idea."

As the two walked in the the cafe the gang usually hangs, they enter to see the three huddled. Huddled against a magazine. "Wow, they really have a lot to say about Bucciarati!" Narancia moved his head closer to the book.

"Hey watch it! I'm trying to read too!" Mista pushed Narancia's head away.

"What are you all reading?"

"Oh hey, boss?" Mista closes the magazine and pulls it behind him.

"Mista! What the hell! I was reading it!" Narancia pulled on Mista's arm, getting up and personal.

"Like hell you are! You probably can barely read dumbass!" Abbacchio sighed as the two were two seconds away to pulling out the stands.

"To answer you Bucciarati, they're reading that new Local Bachelors and Bachelorette magazine."

"And I'm in it?" Bruno whispered to himself, "hand it over you two!" Mista seemed hesitant, it couldn't be that bad right? "Now, Mista" sticky fingers began to appear from over Bucciarati's shoulder. He shoved it into Bruno's hands and stormed off elsewhere. Bruno felt bad but was too intrigued by this magazine mystery to pursue it.

He gently flipped to the pages to reach the number 1 bachelor and "This is worse then I thought..." Giorno peered in, looking from the side. He noticed how much was written exactly. And well the pics were certainly something.

"Bucciarati, do you remember taking those photos? How did they get ahold of them?" The be frank, Bruno was busy reading the almost a thirst essay about himself to even notice the picture.

Giving the pictures a glance he was surprised he recognized them.

"I remember these..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunlight shined softly down the busy Italian streets. Tourist and locals alike enjoying the beauty of the day. Bucciarati took a sip from his glass, "nothing better then a cold glass of wine on a day like this. " he would get the occasional hello from locals he knew as well as glances by curious tourists.

One person, in particular, came up to him. A young women, maybe around her late 20's with a camera around her neck. "Signore, if I may ask. May I take a few photos of you? I'm an artist and I often take pictures of things that inspire me!" To any human being the request would be rather offputting. Indeed it was, at least to Bruno. But a normal person would also decline the offer. Bucciarati didn't see the harm of a few photos, if anything he'd call himself quite photogenic despite his semi-cold demeanor. Plus to deprive an artist of inspiration didn't sit right with him; so he agreed.

~~~~~~~~~

"That artist lied... or she sold my pictures. Either or isn't good, but damn..." Bruno skimmed through the pages. Person after person, some of them he even knew. He stopped on one page and well maybe call it fate but it was the page of the number 1 Bachelorette. Giorno auditable gasped as the sight.

"She's very beautiful... I see why they placed so highly..." Mista and Narancia came from the other side taking peaks.

"Yo, you're right Giorno! She is really beautiful. Father owns a successful flower shop too!" Narancia's cheeks turned slightly red. Mista closed his eyes, humming to himself as if he was fantasizing about something.

"Girl has looks, money, and property. She's a guy's dream girl honestly!" Bruno slammed the magazine closed, proceeding to roll it up. Then uses Sticky Fingers to smack him to the ground. "HEY! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"

"How dare you think like that Mista. Loving someone for their 'perks'..." Bucciarati stared down upon Mista, disappointment, and guilt filling Mista's soul.

Bruno just took the magazine and left. He needed time to make sense of all of it... "geeze Mista... nice to know who you really are!" Giorno snickered as he took a seat at a near by table.

"Guys, I wasn't talking of myself!!! Come on, I would never!"

~~~~~

Bruno wondered the town, just processing it all. All this attention wasn't out of the kindness of people's hearts. It was some lousy list that said he had perks... To now have to wonder if he was being used was a terrifying thought.

"Please, let me go... I don't want this at all!" Bruno was returning to reality. Overhearing 2 people talking in the alleyways.

"Oh come on beautiful, I've got a lot to offer!"

"I'm sure you do, but I am not wanting a relationship! Please for away! I don't even know you!" Her hands try to wiggle free but she was what Bruno could assume was pinned.

"Look missy, think about your answer real carefully. If you don't date me ill-"

"You'll what?" Bruno stood firmly at the alley entrance. The man turned to see him, catching a glimpse of the girl as well. (H/c) hair laced with small flowers, (s/t) skin, as well of (e/c) eyes.

"Its none of your business buddy! So how about you leave me and my girlfriend alone!" Bruno continued to walk closer, his expression as blank as he could manage. "H-Hey! I said stay back!"

"You know I find it amusing when scum like you exist in this world. The least you can do is accept the girl has no feelings for you."

"Like you know shit pal!"

"I heard it all, the entire conversation. As well, the fear upon her face right now speaks wonders." Bruno's steps were heavy, each one making a distinct clack.

"I said stay back you bastard!!" He dragged the poor girl by the hair restraining her arms. Sliding a knife from his own pocket, placing it above her throat.

"Sticky Fingers!" The girl closed her eyes as the blue figure hit the man square in the face. Knocking him down the alley. The guy cowards back, confused beyond belief "next time don't try to force yourself upon a harmless girl. Or do I need to beat the lesson into you?"

"No! No no no! I'm sorry I'm sorry! Please spare me!!"

"Then run." The man ran off in a rush, terror riddled his face as the bruises started to solidify. The screams echoed as he ran into the darkness. Bruno turned back the the girl, she stood against the wall paralyzed from fear. "Hey, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" She shook her head. Taking a good look the most harm was some scratches and maybe a few bruises, nothing life-threatening. Bruno tilted his head, she looked familiar.

"Uh.. mister, thank you for your help. I was really scared that guy was gonna hurt me." She clutched to her basket filled with different flowers. She picked out a small white lily from the batch, extending it to him. "Men back and forth have been cat-calling me all day. It's quite overwhelming." Her smile showed a sparkle of pure innocence. Bruno clutched his first, glancing at the magazine he held. It struck him, it was her, the flower shop's daughter.

"I believe I can show you why this is happening. Come with me and we can tend your wounds as well." The girl looked up in admiration. A shy smile as well as heated cheeks. She took his hand as a quiet acceptance. "Pardon my manners, I'm Bruno Bucciarati. It's my pleasure miss?"

"(L/n), (y/n) (l/n). I owe you my life, Signore."

AN: I might make a part 2... not sure

[indecisive-v]

NINJAMUFFIN DOING ANOTHER AMA ON TWITTER, HERE'S MORE SHIT FOR YA! keep in mind i'm just sharing the funkin related stuff, though i am including WAAAAY more than what i shared before 👍 go check out ninja's twitter profile for questions about stuff like ritz! questions in blue, answers in orange. if yall don't wanna read everything i MIGHT make a version of this post where i replace the answers with my own summaries of em (and if the questions are long, those too)

and here's a link to the ama tweet itself! dunno if it's still goin

Q: I figure the answer will be yes but do you have more plans to implement more guest appearances from people in the newgrounds community into FNF? Or are you all gunna focus on OG lore and stuff going forward

A: for guest appearances, I think we have always seen it as getting a healthy mix of both. PERSONALLY I'd like to lean towards having more OG stuff than guest stuff, BUT it's all a matter of what other boys think of that as well. I'm not the sole person working on game!

Q: Are you gonna release the full FNF game or are you gonna be releasing week after week? Like, are you gonna release week 8 or are we gonna wait some years until The Full Ass Game comes out?

A: Release plan for FNF right now is a few more updates or whatev to the 'demo' we have out right now, and then a long silence of probably no updates whatsoever until the full game is done (which will likely be a few years). That's partly why we made kickstarter for game.

Q: Hey so like, how much will Fnf cost after it's finished? And when will you ask the supporters what they want the game on?

A: It's all subject to change, but right now it prob gonna be standard 15-25$ lil steam indie game.

We will ask Kickstarter pledgers and whatnot what they want the game on SUPER close to when its released, to keep options open if we get onto anything like a console people want.

Q: 1. how was your day

2. are you releasing a week 8 song early like week 7, or are you goin full lockdown

A: I am doing GOOD today, and I think recently I've been good in general.

up to the mood, but so far we doing good about not having anything leak or whatev, so I think it'd be fun to have update come out with people not knowing what to expect at all. Build dat intrigue

Q: Will fnf ever get official plushies?? Seems like an untapped market

A: FNF plushies will prob happen some point, we have a lot of current merch stuff on our plates already though! (Mostly kickstarter type stuff, shirts, pins, posters, and all the physical OST stuff) Its a lot to sort out, but in time more and more stuff will happen. We r jus 4 boys!

Q: did you ever expect your game to blow up as it did? what was your first reaction to seeing it become super popular

A: FNF never had a humble moment, literally day 1 before the prototype even came out, the vid on twitter had like 5K likes overnight. Then when ludum dare version came out, it got 5K likes again, like it wasnt just a fluke. Was crazy, and def felt like somethin was different wit FNF

Q: Do you plan on getting other people to come in to help with the music? That seems like a lot of work to dump on one person, what with the erect mode and whatnot.

I guess the question could apply to all aspects of development. Will you be bringing on more people to help?

A: We definitely are getting help from other people. We are always keeping an eye on people for various different things. In terms of programming, already I've gotten 2 people (MtH and Geokureli) to help with certain Week 7 stuff (charting/polish, and loading stuff). Shit like dat

Q: Oh, also, will the Steam version be Workshop compatible? That'd really help streamline the process of downloading mods.

A: Steam version of FNF will likely NOT be Steam workshop compatible, because we want all the mods to NOT be spread out through different places. There WILL be modding support that is as streamlined as Steam workshop though. Mainly for non-steam versions of the game!

Q: Are there any chances that the game will have a physical release? Also any updates on a switch port? I remember one of you guys talking/joking about it.

A: Not impossible for FNF to get a physical release. We would want to see how far we could go with it though. I think it'd be super easy to do something wit people like LimitedRun games or whatev, but I think stuff like that can only go so far. I wanna see Funkin in mf Walmart!!!!!!

not that LimitedRun isn't going to be an option! Just we consider and pursue many different things! FNF release is years away, so we have time to think about everything. Whole mindset can be different just a few months from now.

Q: Out of curiosity, how are you dealing with all the popularity? It blew up so fast id barely be able to handle it if I was in your shoes.

A: The only way I've been able to handle it is having the other boys on the crew and being able to talk to them about all the overwhelmingness.

Part of it feels very lonesome, feels like NO ONE can come close to comprehending exactly how I'm feeling, except them. also other PALS!!!

Q: Do you own any of the bootleg FNF merchandise? Like any bootleg plushies or anything?

A: i dont, i genuinely think they r a waste of money, and I know any bootleg shit that gets made, we can prob go about and make it, and make it 100x cooler because we actually put effort into shit. bootleg shit just in it for the coin, so they aint gettin that from me

Q: How did you go about getting in contact with sr pelo for skid and pumps vocals?

A: Pelo i think was familiar and pals wit PhantomArcade a bit thru various Newgrounds things and collabs and whatnot.

pelo retweeted the first OG FNF posts first ever, and brought a LOT of attention to it. to pay him back, we put skid and pump in game! ask dave for more info prob

Q: what's the plan for having the full ass game open source if it's gonna cost money? couldn't people just download the source and compile the game for free?

A: when FNF is fully released, the full source code will be released as well.

the game will be DRM free so it will be way easier for people to redistribute the released/offical .exe instead of compiling it, so that's not the issue anyways. people will pay for things if they like it

Q: What are the chances of it getting on consoles like switch or Playstation, ps5 would definitely be my preferred way to play

A: it'd be a matter of hiring someone to build out backend stuff for those specific consoles. someone who knows their way around all the wacky code stuff, AND knows console hardware stuff. Then its just a matter of hittin up those console manufacturers (Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo)

the CLOSEST one is SWITCH. pretty much all of that backend is already made, so it just a matter of gettin all that access and shit.

i think in any case though, there's a lot of NDA stuff required, i dunno how much we'd be able to talk about it even IF we get that stuf sorted

Q: any ideas of releasing it on epic store or another platform?

A: Right now, the only thing that is 100% confirmed and WILL happen is a Steam version, itchio version, and mobile versions on respective app stores. Other storefronts aren't out of the picture though, but we don't want to spread ourselves too thin with it.

Q: Will you continue using HaxeFlixel to make the rest of FNF?

A: yes, because it is what I'm the most technically proficient in, and generally is VERY flexible. just a matter of ME becoming a better coder. It's ALL open source, so if I need something done a certain way, either I can do it, or we can hire someone to do it.

Q: have you seen game theory's videos on your game yet and if so, what do you think about them? (not talking about his predictions because i dont want spoilers. i like mystery)

A: it is always good silly fun to watch the Game Theory vids about Funkin with some pals, and see what matpat thinks of the game. i lov the vids, but wish he used my face less! Or at least used a cuter pic of me like this one!!

Q: Ok so: What does the future of FNF look like to you?

A: future of FNF is a rhythm game that not only exceeds every expectation that people have of it, but subverts most expectations and conventions as well.

Q: Do you plan on retouching on older weeks once the game is fully out? Like reanimating sprites, redoing some charting, updating the background, etc

A: retouching and probably overhauling certain aspects is almost definitely gonna happen. Everything is fluid and can be changed (and should be changed when necessary). i dont think anything should be too attached to, especially this early on in development

Q: I honestly do not care if the answer to this is vague as hell to keep surprises and shit lol but… Since Week 7 was the closest we’ll get to a playable girlfriend (still bf controlling tho), do you have plans to make girlfriend playable in spin-off things or just freeplay?

A: wouldnt be out of the picture for a playable GF, i don't think we've had some hard thing AGAINST it. just a matter of what we want out of the game, and what sort of story or whatev we could do with that concept

Q: How do BF and GF manage to meet famous newgrounds characters (such as pico, tankman and the others to come) like is this all in one universe/ timeline or are they being brought in?

A: i think they are all just there existing. i think there's a lot of wacky things in other media that try to justify crossovers, like MULTIVERSE bullshit or TIMELINE shit, but i dunno, its like subspace emissary. Captain Falcon and Olimar from Pikmin just hang out. Shit like dat

disclaimer that all lore shit is in phantomarcade head pretty much and maybe there is wacky dimensions or somethin

Q: Will the game have dlc?

A: its not too unlikely that we'd have expansions of some sort, but i mean right now we plan on packing in as much as we can into base game, and trying to make that as pure as possible.

if there is ANY dlc, i would personally want it to be 100% free updates

Q: How did you meet Phantom Arcade, Kawai Sprite, and EvilSker? And what do you think about the community and its controversies?

A: me and phantomarcade been fukin around NG for years so years and years ago we naturally crossed paths and became pals

about 2 years ago i found kawaisprites music on NG, and started talkin wit him, made Ritz wit him and we fell in lov

and evilsk8r i met cuz of FNF!!!

quik elaborate on evilsk8r, wanted artist for gamejam FNF was for (ludum dare), and OG person i asked wasnt available, so he referred me to evilsk8r, who I have never met or talked to before ever.