#i'm gonna stick a load of tags on the end of this because some people really need to read this imo

[pinkpoweredpunk]

---

[AUDIO: A recorded conversation.

Alder: So, that boy Cheren seems to have his dream more or less figured out. What about you, kid?

Blake: Huh? Me?

Alder: What are you on this journey for?

Blake: ...

Blake: I don't know. Well, I do, but- it's kinda pathetic...

Blake: I wanted to get away from school.

Alder: Really?

Blake: Yeah... this one my mom tried to send me to. She wants me to find some direction in my life, but- I hated it. It got me all antsy and uncomfortable just thinking about it- sitting around in a classroom full of strangers, listening to some guy drone on for hours, going back home with a load of homework- been there done that in elementary and middle school, you know?

Alder: Ha! Trust me, I do know. I had the exact same problems when I was your age- I couldn't sit still or stay in one place to save my life. Why learn about the world on a chalkboard when you can go out and see it for yourself, right?

Blake: Yeah, but- still. It was kinda irresponsible of me.

Blake: And... I dunno if it ended up being worth it. I got caught up in all this stuff with Team Plasma, and- people have gotten hurt because of it, and...

Alder: Ah, Team Plasma, eh? Yeah, they've been on my radar for a while now. I just got back from talking about them with Clay. We're looking into trying to stop them, but they're a slippery bunch.

Blake: Yeah... and uh, lately someone I thought I could trust turned out to be... not who I thought they were.

Alder: I see. So all of this is what's been making you want to call it quits, huh?

Blake: ...kinda. I don't know why I even bothered, honestly. This always happens- I get all excited, and think this time surely nothing will go wrong, and guess what? It does.

Blake: I don't... at this point, I don't know why I keep thinking I deserve to give myself second chances... All I keep doing is getting wrapped up in some kind of trouble, and dragging others down with me. It'd be better for everyone if I just threw the towel in.

Alder: Now, now, hold on there.

Blake: Huh-?

Alder: You're not giving yourself- or the friends that have been sticking by your side- enough credit. Your Pokemon, your traveling buddies- you've clearly got some loyal pals if they're still tagging along with you after all this time.

Blake: But-

Alder: I know you probably think it's unfair to them, huh? That they don't deserve to be caught up in this mess with you? I get it. But from the way I see it, I think they would've said something by now if they didn't want any part of this.

Alder: Well, at least that's what I gathered, from how close you all seem. I don't think I've seen a team of Pokemon this happy in a long time!

Blake: I...

Alder: We've all got our flaws, kid. Every adventure, every journey is gonna have its ups and downs. But I think the best way to handle those road bumps isn't just shoving everyone outta the way to deal with 'em yourself- it's tackling them together.

Alder: People aren't always gonna understand each other. Family, friends, strangers... People and Pokemon won't always, either. But I think what help us persevere in the face of those things is the bonds we share. And the way to nurture those bonds is opening your heart to each other, trusting each other.

Alder: Let me guess- you haven't told Cheren or any of your other friends much about these feelings, have you?

Blake: ...No, not really... They all see me as this tough, unstoppable trainer. I-I'm the most experienced out of any of them, they- they rely on me to keep my shit together.

Alder: Mhm. And how's that been working out for you so far?

Blake: ...Not great.

Alder: Well, I won't try and push you into doing anything- but I think it ought to be worth a try to open up more. Just a little bit. You're not infallible, champ- no one is.

Alder: It's clear you're enjoying this journey more than you say you are, otherwise you would've given up a long time ago. You love the feeling of seeing new places, and gathering all these new experiences, you love traveling with the people and Pokemon you've met along the way- deep down, I think you understand you wouldn't trade any of that for the world.

Alder: You've still got a long road ahead, and it's gonna have its mix of good and bad moments. Best you can do to prepare for it is trust your heart, try to know who your friends are, and take in whatever's around you and whatever you're feeling in the moment.

Alder: Like right now- you aren't facing down with Team Plasma, are you? You're at a festival! You ought to go enjoy yourself.

Blake: Haha... I guess you're right.

---

[song-of-oots]

#sabine has had an interesting development alongside rich burlew's own development as a writer#the very start with all the sexism it was like... hnngh maybe stop with all the ''whore'' and ''bitch''#(although haley can absolutely keep ''sneak attack bitch!'')#but as you get to see more of her she becomes far more interesting and yeah her relationship with nale is...#i was gonna say ''ethical non-monogany'' but ''ethical'' is not. not really a great word to describe an Evil succubus who sacrifices people#also to the point about nale's shock - i always read it as shocked at the *timing*#like it's not ''you've had sex with (presumably) four different people?!''#it's ''how did you manage to fuck four people in like three hours?!''#i do want to see her come up before the ending although i'm not really sure in what context she would#she is working for the ifcc so it's possible that when they reappear she will too#regardless to my original point#sabine is a great example of how burlew has grown as a writer and how the characters have become far more complex over the years#i keep trying to tell people - yes there's a lot of casual sexism and homophobia at the start but it was 2003 and that was normal!#it gets better! burlew gets so much better! he even calls himself out on it in a later strip!#these tags have gotten out of hand sorry but i have Feelings about oots and this fandom is like twelve people and a cat (and a dinosaur)#someone scream about oots with me!

@andromeda3116 these tags are raising some very interesting points so I hope you don't mind me reblogging them. I've actually been meaning to respond to this for ages, but then got ludicrously busy.

The slurs Haley throws at Sabine in the early strips didn't bother me so much initially not because I agree with them (I never have), but because I don't like all female protagonists to be heavily sanitised and overly perfect, and unfortunately it is quite possible for women to also perpetuate misogyny. Also my general policy on this sort of thing is to judge the work on its overall messaging, rather than the actions of one specific character. It would have bothered me a lot more if I'd felt that the comic was trying to portray Haley's language as justified, rather than a plausible character flaw - and I think Rich has confirmed that's basically all he intended by it. Having said that, I'm extremely glad that he also made the choice to have Haley move on from that. Not only is there a dearth of female characters in the early part of the story, Haley was the only prominent heroine, and it takes a few hundred strips until we see her with a sustained positive relationship with other women. I can certainly see why many people felt that it's really less than ideal to have your principal female protagonist throwing around that kind of language, particularly in those circumstances (so-called realistic flaws be damned).

This is actually a really good example for why I love Order of the Stick so much in spite of and in some ways because of its flaws - because you get to see that development as a writer, not only in terms of the deeper characterisation, more intricate plot etc. but also in how Rich Burlew grapples with moral/social issues and puts an increasing amount of thought into what messages his work is conveying. No person or piece of work is perfect but progress is possible. It's good to have a concrete demonstration of that.

Another example is the very conscious decision to stop sexualising all his female characters (I don't mind female characters being in sexual situations, but if the vast majority are fulfilling some romantic/sexual function and the men aren't? It's incredibly tiresome). It's so refreshing for an author to just say upfront: "my bad, I'll try to do better in future" and take it seriously, without feeling the need to get defensive and come up with loads of dubious justifications.

Separate point: I think it's pretty likely Sabine will return (for the first time ever in the new art style!) as she's still involved in whatever the IFCC is up to. It'll be very interesting to see how Nale's death has affected her.

A bunch of reasons why I have a soft spot for Sabine:

1) I like her understated comradery with Vaarsuvius.

2) Her interaction with Miko was comedy gold.

3) I hugely enjoy the way she keeps getting used to subvert traditional narratives around women’s attitudes to romance/sex (the revelation in strip 394 that she’s mad that Nale was trying to kill Haley, rather than sleep with her; strip 794 “women like me swoon for a hero, but that’s only because deep down, we think we can change them.”)

4) She may be a self-confessed “incarnation of illicit sex”, but the story isn’t usually interested in condemning her for her sexual proclivities (except for those occasions where she uses vengeful murder as an aphrodisiac, which: fair). The moral condemnation implied by the narrative is generally in reference to all of the aforementioned murder and also literally working for the forces of evil.

5) I also really like Sabine and Nale’s relationship. This isn’t because I’m particularly fond of Nale (I’m really not) but I do think it gives them both a bit of depth. I also like the fact that a non-monogamous relationship is treated as pretty non-sensational and valid (even if it did initially come as quite a shock to Nale; casually announcing you’ve had sex 4 times while off on a business trip and you don’t care who he sleeps with is probably not the best way of handling such things in real life). Anyway, if anything they are closer than ever in Blood Runs in the Family (despite a little insecurity on Nale’s part regarding Sabine’s attraction to Elan and all those edgy “good boys”). The occasionally-sleeping-with-other-people thing doesn’t actually disrupt their emotional bond at all. And basically, as a polyamorous person, it is pretty refreshing to see non-monogamy depicted in a way that doesn’t try to imply it is inherently inferior, and in the context of a relationship that is actually quite healthy (even if the rest of their behavior isn’t).

6) She helped V to thwart Tarquin, which is kind of covered in point 1, but I think it deserves a separate bullet point and quite probably it’s own separate post one day simply because I love the significance of this narratively. (In fact I hope she has a hand in Tarquin’s eventual downfall, though that doesn’t seem overly likely.)

7) She’s hot. (My husband suggested I add this one, and on consideration I realised it probably is a contributory factor so I agreed).

[charlesxavirs]

in regards to billverly:

okay so me and @sedanley have been talking about this and i feel like it needs to be talked about and i have about 30 points so please don’t expect this to be eloquent BUT: bill and beverly sleeping together is a massive part of their plotlines and is important and needs to be in the film

in my opinion, as much as i don’t like it, i can see why why they both do it: for all they know they could be dead by tomorrow, they’d spent the whole night talking about being children (when, u know, they were as in love as 13 year olds could be) and they were both looking for comfort in a huge clusterfuck of Bad. that’s it. for me, that’s the top and bottom of it. bill wasn’t thinking about audra, and neither was bev for that matter, and they did it. end of. was it a good idea? no. was it fair to audra? no. do i think it was a shitty thing to do? abso-fucking-lutely. however, in CONTEXT, it’s not exactly explainable, because there’s not really an excuse for it, but i can see why they acted the way they did, however crappy of them it was to do so.

also, you have to take into consideration the Derry Effect, and this, for me, is quite important, especially when considering book canon. when the losers return to derry, they’re essentially 13 again. a whole life that they’d forgotten has caught up with them all of a sudden, and despite the lives they’ve led apart, they’ve never formed their own identity. and how can they, really, when a significant part of their childhood has been taken from them, and they have about a week to deal with this while ALSO fighting a demonic clown. so as far as he’s concerned really, bill is still madly in love with bev, and once they face pennywise for the second time, they finally become their own people, able to form full identities without pennywise. this isn’t just exhibited in bill and bev sleeping together, but you can see it in bill’s stutter coming back, bev’s daddy issues, eddie marrying a woman who’s essentially his mother, richie’s wild behaviour, mike staying in derry and stanley not coming back. the pair of them don’t quite see that what they’ve done is wrong, but they’re human, and for all intents and purposes, to them, they’re in love. this stops, though, when pennywise is killed. bev and bill have a friendly goodbye, and bev leaves with bill. she’s not hung up on him, he’s not chasing after her, it’s done. they’ve finally become adults, in a way, and are able to act without pennywise’s influence, which is really what caused them to have the affair in the first place.

as amber pointed out, stephen king is an intentional writing, and no matter how much he loves focusing on female nips, he wouldn’t have included this if it wasn’t significant, because it’s such a pivotal act that it only serves to prove that the losers can’t survive and thrive in derry while pennywise is there. it only goes to show that they need to defeat him.

also, i’ve seen a lot of posts slamming bill for sleeping with bev. and yeah, i’m not going to lie, as much of a Bill Denbrough Warrior as i am, i agree. it’s unforgivable, he loved his wife, he was happy with his wife, and he’s a piece of shit for cheating on her, absolutely. but by the same token, so is bev, and i can’t see how you can excuse bev for the act, and not bill. she knew he was married, audra followed him to derry for god’s sake how could she not know, so if you’re going to condemn bill for it, you have to condemn bev too. she was just as complicit as he was. also, and i hate to be THAT guy, but a lot of the people i’ve seen bashing bill for cheating on audra are blogs who are posting about how they hope reddie will become canon in chapter 2, which would, you know, mean eddie would have to cheat on his wife. and however much of a shit wife myra was, it’s not an excuse. audra wasn’t the best wife to bill before he left, not to the extent myra was but still, that doesn’t excuse him, so you can’t make one rule for one character and one for another. so i’ll just leave that one there for u all to consider.

basically, tl;dr: bill and bev are human, and for all they know, they’re going to die, and the town they’ve returned to has dragged up childhood memories- and feelings- that they haven’t felt for 27 years. they’re both in the wrong, they’re both awful for doing it, but it shapes how they go on, it serves to prove that pennywise needs to be defeated so they can leave their hometown behind and move on and finish forming their own identities. it’s done, it’s there, and however much we as a fandom don’t like it, it’s an important part of their character arcs.

[qualquercoisa945]

could you love this? would this one be right? well if i'm being honest, i'm hoping it might

AO3 link

Title Inspiration- If I'm Being Honest by Dodie

so. here we are. last chapter, huh? we've come a long way, honestly- can you believe it's been six months?- and i've changed a lot since the first chapter. not just as a writer, but as a person. and this is gonna sound sappy, but i owe a lot of it to this fic. it's the first multi-chapter i've finished and the first fic i've ever posted. i don't know where i'd be without it- and quite honestly, i don't want to know. but i do have some people to thank, in no particular order (and these are all tumblr urls so just bear with me here). first of all, one of, if not the first person to ever know of this fic's existence, @ichlugebulletsandcornnuts, who was the actual sweetest when reacting to it and was one of the main forces behind me beginning to post my stuff. thank you so much for everything, i owe you so much 💙💖 then, the actual ray of sunshine who beta-read through this fic, @lailaliquorice, who has been nothing but a positive force in my life and is just an all around great friend and is again, an actual ray of sunshine personified. so laila, thank you for everything and i hope i get to hold you again soon, sunshine 💖💙 next, @i-was-a-writer, someone who's been nothing but supportive and enthusiastic about everything i've told them about, and who's helped me keep a level head when my mind decided to be bitch so many times. thank you for helping me and supporting me, rico, i'm so glad you're in my life 💙💖 but obviously this wouldn't be complete with the actual angel in my life who's been there for me since fucking day one, @the-quiet-winds. when i first dmed you julie, with that crappy ass maragon fic, i had no clue that i would find one of the most supportive and fantastic people in my life. i'm not joking when i say that you've changed my life. i love you so fucking much my angel, you're the best older sister i could ever ask for 💖💙 and last but definitely not least, you all, who have read, liked, reblogged and commented on any of my fics. i wouldn't be where i am today without you all, and thank you all for giving me a reason to keep on posting them. i love you all 💙💖 i'll probably rewrite this fic eventually. i've considered maybe from a different point of view? we'll see. but for now, this is the end. so with all the sappy stuff out of the way, sit back and enjoy the last chapter of the kitty snaps fic. it's been a wild ride, but a good one. thank you all for everything 💖💙

Trigger Warnings- Hospitals, mentions of appendicitis, surgery, and stabbing in the context of a metaphor. As always, ask me to tag anything

The day had started… Well, definitely not well, considering her and Kitty’s… situation, but not terribly, all things considered. At least, Jane had managed to stick to her usual routine, which considering how chaotic things had been lately, was a win in her books.

Well, until she’d gotten that phonecall while on her way back to the theatre from her break between the two shows. She’d nearly let her phone fall right then and there as she heard Cathy retell how Kitty had fainted and how she’d had to call an ambulance, and that they were currently on their way to the hospital.

As soon as she knew where they were heading, Jane made her way to her car, not daring to hang up in case she’d miss any updates from Cathy, just barely keeping herself from speeding there as she drove to the hospital.

She was just barely out of the car when she noticed Cathy running over, and swiftly she pulled her bandmate into a hug, that was cut short by the latter pulling away. “It’s appendicitis.” Cathy explained without much pretense, and Jane herself could only barely mask her panic. “She’s in surgery right now.”

She felt Cathy’s hand give her own a light squeeze as, at least she assumed, her expression begin in morph into one of panic. “Hey, breathe. Times have changed, love, especially in this regard. It’ll be alright.”

Jane forced herself to take in a deep breath, nodding quickly. “Right, well, let’s go in, yes?”

The time spent in a waiting room felt like torture for Jane. The other queens had tried to get her mind out of it, but eventually they’d had to go on and thus it was just her and Cathy, whose mood wasn’t much better than her own. Finally, she resorted to simply watching the time, waiting in silence as she tried not to slip into panic.

She looked up from her lap when she hear three sets of footsteps rush over, watching as Catherine, Anne and Anna rushed over. She vaguely listened as Cathy gave them the same explanation she’d given Jane, before they all sat down near them. To her surprise, she noticed Anne sit down on her free side, and then they all fell into silence.

It was a few minutes later when she felt a light tap on her knee, and she looked up to face Anne, who nodded towards the door before getting up- a silent invitation for her to follow.

So she did. Jane followed Anne outside, and they stood there in silence for a moment before the latter spoke. “How’re you holding up?”

Jane couldn’t help but role her eyes at that. “Take a guess.” She muttered out, a seldom-heard bitterness lacing her words.

“Welcome to the club.” Anne replied with a shrug, leaning against the wall. They fell into silence for a while longer, before Anne spoke up again. “I’m not gonna say all that “oh, times have changed” bullshit because you and I both know that’s not gonna help. But Kitty’s tough, even if she doesn’t seem like it. She’ll be alright.” Anne seemed to pause for a minute, and Jane opened her mouth to speak before she continued. “And if you need to talk about it, which no one can blame you for, we’re all here for you.”

Jane nodded, but whatever she was going to give as a reply disappeared when she noticed Catherine go through the doors.

“Jane, she’s awake, and she’s looking for you.”

Kath had woken up to dull noises and a hazy vision. She just barely remembered asking for Jane, but now that she was slightly more awake and sitting on the hospital bed cross legged, she couldn’t help but lightly bite her bottom lip in anxiety as she waited for Jane to come.

If she did come.

The thought snaked its way into her mind nearly silently, only to immediately hit her like a truck. Would Jane want to come see her? After her outburst, and her behaviour following it… She couldn’t help but worry, wrapping her arms around her waist as tightly as she could without it hurting.

She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of the door opening, and she swallowed dryly as she waited to see who it was.

And it was Jane.

Kath wasn’t quite sure what went through her mind once she’d seen her. All she knew was that a sudden wave of emotions hit her far too quickly, and a word she’d been wanting to say for god knew how long finally made its way out her mouth.

“Mama.”

She wasn’t sure what Jane’s immediate reaction had been, but she did remember quiet footsteps hurrying over, and a gentle kiss being pressed on the top of her head, followed by a dip on the mattress next to her and Jane pulling her into her hold, which she sunk into, her face buried in Jane’s shoulder as she let out a week’s worth of emotions through her tears.

“I’ve got you, love.” Jane’s voice felt just a bit more distant than it should be, and so Kath pulled her tighter, whimpering softly. “It’s alright.” She focused on Jane’s soft touches and words, using them to keep herself grounded as she cried in Jane’s hold.

As the tears slowly started to slow, Kath’s hold on Jane slackened while she slowly, slowly processed just what she’d called Jane before her outburst. Once it hit, though, she all but jumped out of Jane’s arms, not even able to look Jane in the eyes as she mumbled out a teary “I’m sorry.”

“What for, love?” Jane’s gentle yet confused tone only served to push the metaphorical knife deeper into her heart, twisting it around so it’d cause her even more agony.

“For calling you…” Kath gave a sideways nod, hoping Jane would get the message. It would seem she did, though her response was nothing like the one Kath had been expecting.

“Oh, darling…” Kath froze when Jane cupped her cheek, finally looking up to meet Jane’s soft gaze. “It’s alright, dear. I’m not mad.”

“You should be!” Kath finally exclaimed, sitting up straight. Jane recoiled her hand in shock, and so Kath made herself slow down a bit. “I was awful to you last week. An- And I’ve been ignoring you ever since and I-”

“Kitty.” Jane’s firm yet soft voice snapped her out of her reverie, getting her to focus on Jane. “You were understandably angry, love. I should have listened to you, and I’m sorry you felt like you had to lash out for us to listen. And…” Jane paused then, and Kath braced herself for the worst.

“And you’re right.” She blinked at that reply, tipping her head to the side ever so slightly. “You’re right, he wasn’t- he didn’t love us.” Jane finally murmured out, and it was then Kath noticed an odd sort of vulnerability that she couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen on the eyes of the third queen.

“M- I mean, Jane-” “If you want to call me mum, you can.” Jane interjected softly, giving Kath a soft smile when she looked up in shock. “I mean it, love. We can ignore it and pretend it never happened, or, if you’d like, you can call me it. Whatever you’re comfortable with, love.”

Kath found herself pondering on that for a few moments, she’d wager maybe a minute, then nodded and fell back against Jane. “Well, mum,” she spoke the word slowly, almost hesitantly, but the light squeeze from Jane’s arm around her shoulders pushed her to continue, “it’s alright. And, I’m sorry for losing my cool like that.”

She felt herself relax even further into Jane’s embrace, struggling to keep her eyes open as emotional and physical exhaustion began to seep in after the incredibly loaded conversation she’d just had. She perked slightly when she felt a light pressure on top of her head. “Sleep, my little love. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Jane’s soft words were all she needed to fully relax, and although she didn’t feel like everything was fine just yet, she felt like things were heading there. Slowly, but surely, she’d get there, she found herself promising to herself, no matter how long it took.

[jackednephi]

@starseedjenny you have observed my tags and for this you get an infodump

So Dylan (my husband) took levels in carpentry. He's no master carpenter but he can make furniture. His absolute favorite thing to do is to get gnarly tree roots or branches and carve them into odd length walking sticks and then sell them at the local wood shop. It's easier to use a stick instead of a cane (my back hurts a LOT from using my cane but never with a stick) and different people are different heights. Plus, something people don't think about is there are incredibly short people or even children. So why not have something beautiful and sturdy?

What he does is he carefully exposes what it is about the piece of wood that is unique. Are the different bark layers different colors? He'll strip the bark carefully to have a gradient flowing up the stick until the heart of the wood, its true color as it were, is exposed. Did it have a lot of branches? Find a way to show off the cool knots. Basically, he works with what he has to let the thing speak for itself. Less actual carving like swirls or whatever and more revealing what it is that makes that stick special. Takes less technical carving skill but a good eye for natural beauty. My uncle carved my grandmother her cane before he passed and while it's a beautiful piece, it is definitely carved if that makes sense

Anyway, as you know I love arting and crafting and making pretty things with my hands. Because of church, I know how to embroider, quilt, scrapbook, make pretty much anything you could ever want from cloth from actual clothes to scripture holders, and all the usual home stuff afab people get taught in YWs. I know how to knit (with a loom), make paper art, draw traditionally, paint traditionally (and know how to stretch my own canvas), create beautiful digital art, create rough architecture blueprints that are less rough with minecraft now, stain wood, cook, make rugs, and basically if there is a craft out there I don't know, I learn very quickly as I'm great with my hands and my hand-eye coordination is fantastic. Thank you 15 years of piano lessons

Dylan, knowing this, encouraged me to take up wood burning. Painting is difficult as I don't have an easel and unless I find a comfy recliner or wheelchair stat, I can't feasibly paint anytime soon. Due to disability (and lack of materials) there are a great number of hobbies I can no longer engage in as there I'd nothing but pain and frustration. I was a little intimidated, I'll admit, because I had no idea what a wood burning tool looked like and how would I work it anyway? From my time around big saws and other wood working machinery, I wondered if it would be something unwieldy and dangerous

Plus, let's be honest. I have a very hard time justifying spending money on myself if it's more than $5 at a time

He'd been goading me into it since November. He'd basically finished up my stick except for staining and he knew I'd want to burn it. But I hemmed and hawed. Finally, we had a pretty decent paycheck with loads of money leftover and he talked me into it. Even got that nice flat piece to get me started before taking the tips to my stick

It has been a genuine blast and a complete delight. It's like a very hot, very fat pencil and he saw right away I was going to need gloves or I'd burn myself and have loads of scars all over my fingers and hands. I'm glad he did because it hasn't been a day and already my gloves have marks on them. He got real expensive deerskin so they'd be able to move with my fingers and give me more mobility than anything else. They were expensive too and wouldn't hear any complaints I had about money. He wasn't going to have me melting my flesh or unable to do delicate work like I like

What I've been doing is outlining the thin layers of bark he left. He noticed that while the outermost layers were ugly, the innermost were interesting. You can see the grain in a way you can't with the lighter wood and you have a cool looking shade that's a nice contrast to that lighter heart. I've been going over them with the round tip (really good for drawing and writing as it's super smooth) and doing those hair thin lines with the point tip. It feels very similar to drawing a fantasy map all over my stick

I'm about 1/3 of the way up my stick though definitely not 1/3 of the way finished. I lose hours at a time bent over and carefully burning. I found out I can take the tips off hot and put them in a ceramic dish to minimize cool off and maximize time spent working. Which is critical for me as I can't spend more than about three hours tops bent over burning

It's so fun because it's like line art but it's on a piece of wood so it feels like I'm doing something new. It's very methodical and cathartic and I lose so much time focusing on doing this. It keeps me calm and downright happy! Which is EXCELLENT because it means I'm combatting seasonal depression in a very big way. I've already agreed to do this with all of his pieces to enhance what he's already carved. Eventually I'll probably Do Things like Actual Wood Art but for now I'm happy with this

We already have some projects planned too by the way!!! He loves making furniture and he can build better stuff for cheaper than buying it from a furniture store. So he's going to build a lift top coffee table and a dresser for sure that I'll burn. The first piece I want us to do, I'll burn the wood BEFORE he cuts it and see how that turns out. It'll be a little box (probably to hold bunny stuff) but I want to see if that does something unique or if it just is bad. If it's not something we like, hey I didn't waste weeks or months on something huge that ended up looking bad

We're probably going to make all the tables and dressers that go in our home. Maybe an entertainment center. I know we'll make my sister stuff just on the condition she pays for materials and getting it into her place. We'll probably make stuff for people who want it and I KNOW he's willing to take commissions. Closest family (parents, my sister, etc) will only have to pay for materials/shipping. Friends and other family will probably pay that and a little extra because friends and family discount. Everyone else is gonna have to pay retail value on top of materials and shipping because they'd get a unique piece you can't find anywhere else and it'd be worth it y'know?

But that's like way off sometime eventually probably

For now, I LOVE this new hobby. I can't wait to see what my stick is going to look like finished! I'm going to burn "support" on the bottom in kanji before the no slip grip goes on. Not really for any particular reason so much as like. Sentimental? I guess? Kind of like I'm burning a prayer for it to be sturdy and useful and good into it. I tried carving my wife's kanji on it (the first kanji of his middle name means dragon) but it didn't work out well so I'm gonna burn it onto the top and that'll be its name. Again, sentiment. There is also power in naming things and like. Just in case?

It has been such a very long time since I've been able to make something with my hands that I had the materials for and I'm just absolutely pink over it. I really super want people to see this stick and want some useful beauty for themselves that I can give. I love giving and making and seeing people smile over stuff I've made. It's been such a long time since something I've done has made someone smile and I just really want to bring that back y'know?

Anyway thank you for letting me gush. I just super love this and like yeah it's the butchest hobby like ever (according to Phoebe who has the most femme hobby ever of macrame) but it really fits me. It sparks joy in a way I haven't felt in a very very long time and I can't wait to see all the things I can do