#is that i struggle to make up action poses that really fit any of the characters

[klqdraws]

I haven't drawn Al in a while, so have an Al Van Helsing :]

[s4ndb0xfung1]

The Shape/Michael A. Myers SFW & NSFW Headcanons MINORS DNI!!!!

Been working on some headcanons for Michael Myers for a while, he is such a lovely slasher I love him so much!. wish he would fill me up irl. also this is a completely Gender less headcanon so nobody will feel left out.

SFW Headcanons

Michael has ASPD because of that he struggles with understanding when you feel hurt by some of his actions, especially when it comes to dragging dirt into the newly cleaned house. or when he is covered in blood trying to lay beside you in your shared beds. But also when he is too rough with you, as well with breaking your stuff.

one time he hurt you really badly by hitting you in the face, when trying to move his mask, he didn't get why you were so upset at him, you cried a lot in your now shared bedroom. you had a dark black eye for over a week after the incident, and michael left you be for the first 3 days. After that he tried apologizing in his own way by spending time with you. 

you had to teach him “treat people like you want to be treated” something children learn young, but you had to remind yourself that Michael did not have a normal childhood nor normal interactions with other kids when he was young, and because of that took it easy with him the first month.

He learned pretty quickly how to behave around you.

Michael is like a cat and would leave dead creatures in your living room, this can be from dead animals like birds, wild turkeys and even one time a deer. The worst he had done was when he brought you a dead cow, you had to explain to him that he could not just steal farmers, animals.let alone a cow.

you had to force him to wash that gross mask, before you swore you could see green stink lines coming out of that gross thing.

he likes to bathe with you whether it be bathing in a bath or taking a shower together, he really likes to be close to you. not just that he likes it when you fuss over him, he likes it when you scrub his hair with the shampoo. or when you wash his body from soap, even when the bath is done and you put on lotion he will just watch you.

you tried getting him to try out the body lotion you have, but he doesn't really get WHY he should put it on and the sensation of being sticky after a bath really makes his skin crawl. He just puts it on his arms and T-Poses until it dries or he can handle the sensation.

originally he would walk around in his dirty overall all the time until you told him you would blend his mask if he did not just take it off to wash it as well as having to wear other clothes for once.

when you went out shopping clothes with him, it was kind of weird forcing him to try out clothes to make sure the shirts and pants where his size,

It took you 3 tries to get the right size for both shirt and pants, this absolute UNIT of a man could not even fit in a large or XL due to his height and density.

You wanted him to try on so.e sweatpants only to be flashed with his package. You quickly gave him an XXL, so he could actually sit in the parts without breaking them at the seams, as well to not flash any poor unsuspecting people.

After the shopping you decided to get some food from. The food court in the mall you went to. And discovered that Michael really liked spicy food even when you knew he hadn't built up the tolerance for it. You came to the conclusion he most likely likes the feeling of pain that comes with eating really spicy food.

You also realized that Michael really REALLY likes sugary stuff, you already knew he had a little sweet tooth due to your chocolate disappearing sometimes, but you never knew how much he actually loved sweets. It was to the point where you felt disgusted he could eat those sugar bombs.

He wears the mask all the time. The only time he takes it off is when he is forced to clean the mask or when you want to take him out shopping.

Due to the fact you are far away from Haddonfield you don't have to fear that much that someone might recognize michael. tough people are kind of freaked out by him. mostly because he wears a black medical mask., but also due to him standing almost completely still behind you while waiting for you to choose the right cereal, and staring like a toddler when people get too close.

mentioning toddlers, Michael and toddlers would stare at each other. until you or the parent interfere, and tell them to stop. While Michael doesn't really show his emotions on his face, you swear he gets really proud when he wins the staring contest.when he is the one losing he pouts.

When you make food Michael will either stand at the end of the kitchen watching you, or sitting on the couch not doing anything. He likes to hear you work but he gets bored quickly if you are not paying attention to him.

He barely watches TV but when he does he gets absorbed into it, almost like a trance. His favorite show is “Too Cute” on Animal planet, not because he finds the animals interesting but because it calms him down for some reason. you like watching it with him.

you try to get him to watch TV shows and movies with him, which he does sit down and watch with you but he does not get that much into it, he just likes to watch it because it is with you. The same goes for music.

When he wants to relax he wears a T-shirt and sweatpants. He likes how soft they are. However, when he has to go to bed you get him some really soft pajamas. He doesn't wear them often because he forgets about them due to his relaxation clothes being just as soft for him. He puts them on when you 2 go to bed right after a bath, or when you have just changed the sheets. though that is because you tell him to.

NSFW Headcanons

Michael did masturbate a lot both when he was incarcerated, he would use it to pass time in the psych ward. He didn't really care that the staff could see him doing it through the cameras in his cell.

His dick is bigger than the average person, being 6,5 inches in length. however he is pretty girthy, and it points a little upwards, he is also circumcised. 

He had no idear of what he was doing when you two first started fucking. He was so bad you had to tell him how to insert his dick into you, and why he could not just ram it in, but had to ease it in.

you also had to educate him on how to use condoms, lube as well as how to make sex pleasurable for the both of you.

Michael is allergic to silicone based lube, and because of that he is also allergic to condoms as well. He is luckily not too allergic to them, only gives him itchiness in his crotch area. When it first happened you both had to wait with sex for a week. you had to continuously put some form of salve on his area, and you also had to continuesly stop him from trying to fuck you after touching him there. 

After that situation you looked out for anything containing silicone or latex based products.

when you two finally had fucked it open up the pandoras box for all the dirty things you two would get up and in to.

you have fucked on the kitchen table on the couch in the shower one time he fucked you against the door of the main intrance. most likely scaring you neighbors. but most of the time he prefers the bedroom, not the bed but the bedroom. it's a place where you two can be left alone so you both cannot get unwanted guests.

Here are some quick kinks Michael discovered with you and when.

He learned he likes to choke you, he learned that when you tried to get up after an orgasm but he wanted you to stay down. He took hold of your throat in one hand and pushed you down into the maddress, not enough to choke you out of breath but to hold you down. he had to stop what he was doing after hearing the loudest moan come out of you, he really liked having that effect over you while also having control.

Michael likes impact play, you were head down ass up position and was moving around, Michael got really angry. He smacked your ass really hard, making you squeal by both pain and surprise. He liked the way he could hurt you while you also feeling pleasurable. He really likes making you feel good.

a similar thing happened when he slapped your crotch hard, he really liked the way you moan and whine.

he likes to restrain you in some way or another, when fucking on the kitchen table he lifted you up, holding you close while roughly hitting your hips together. It was a cold day so having you close was really nice to him.

Some of his favorite positions are the ones where you are off the ground, he likes the fact  you are completely defenseless and at his mercy. it gives him a sense of power, especially over you.

He doesn't talk normally and neither in the bed, however you can hear deep breaths, small whimpers and moans as well a lot of growls, his voice is really deep and it almost gives a little vibration through you.

Michael is still too green when it comes to sex for you two to incorporate toys into your adventures. same with preferences when it comes to if he wants to come in or on you and where he would like to come on you.

[trillscienceofficer]

I would like to clarify that when I say that Seven's situation on Voyager is fucked up (like in this post I wrote yesterday) I don't mean that Janeway should've listened to her demands and let her go in “The Gift”, or that Janeway and the Doctor had no right to start removing her implants (leaving them would've killed her after all). What I mean is that the fucked-upness is in the whole situation that made Seven's reclamation from the Borg possible but also put her in an environment (the USS Voyager) where survival is guaranteed by the close collaboration of everyone on board, which also means concessions of personal freedom and privacy. Other crewmembers entered this pact voluntarily (we can discuss some other time what choice did the Maquis actually have other than join the crew), but Seven unequivocally did not. Yet it's the only way she could've been reclaimed because we know, and the show drives this point home multiple times, that she was so young when she was assimilated that Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One alone would always choose the Borg. She knew of no other alternative.

I don't think letting Seven go back to the Borg in “The Gift” would've been an actually ethical choice, even if it's true that that was what she wanted. She was undoubtedly a prisoner, but I think that we forget (well, I do sometimes at least) that Seven, outside of any metaphor, can be very dangerous. She is strong and quick, she has Borg weaponry and technology at her disposal, she is relentless when pursuing her goal, and even as a drone she knows how Voyager works inside and out. Janeway took the gamble of disconnecting her from the Collective in “Scorpion, part 2” because they were expecting her to try and assimilate Voyager on her own, which she promptly tried to do as soon as the Species 8472 was no longer the main threat. So imho the ethical question posed by “The Gift” is, what do you do when an extremely dangerous individual asks you to be freed so she can rejoin the genocidal alien army of brainwashed zombies that terrorizes the galaxy? They will likely pursue you afterwards, but even if by some lucky chance they don't, you'll still have given back both a weapon and cannon fodder to the genocidal alien army. In addition to that, there's the concrete possibility that your prisoner might one day start living a different life once the brainwashing loses its hold on her.

So no, I really don't think that Janeway made a bad or even questionable choice in “The Gift”, even if it's painful to see Seven struggle against it. The complication has only just started at that point, imho. The fucked-upness comes from her having to “become an individual” in a highly-regulated and closely-surveilled community, one she could've never chosen on her own. On one hand this allows Seven to develop skills she completely lacked in a somewhat safe environment, but on the other hand it limits quite severely what she can or can't do. And while at first she rails against those limitations (she spends the entirety of season 4 doing just that), with time she starts understanding the value of living on Voyager. She manages to resist the Borg Queen's threats in “Dark Frontier” because she has learned compassion in the meantime, eventually choosing voluntarily to return to Voyager. It's a turning point that definitely does a lot to compensate for her lack of agency in “The Gift”. She thinks of Voyager as her new collective, which is equally a testament of how far she's come as much as it is a worrying admission that her new group identity is not that far off the Borg, in her mind.

By season 7 Seven is outright grateful for everything Janeway has done for her, but it still doesn't make her arc learning to ‘fit in’ any less of an exercise in shaping herself into the mold she was given as her only possible future. Is it better than being a murderous, mind-controlled zombie? Yes, it absolutely still is. Seven's independent thoughts and actions now matter, even when they clash with the rules, which is just not comparable with being a Borg drone in any way. Yet it's easy to see why her role on Voyager is also stifling, and that again she can't choose differently because she knows of no other alternative, and none are available to her anyway.

The fucked-upness also comes from extra-diegetical, production reasons, of course. The stupid ideas about what a woman is and what Seven should do to really be one (does she even want to be one?), the fact that a medical practitioner could control so closely how she presents and what she eats, the lack of actual clothes in order to make her a sexy babe for the 90s Trek target audience (“males aged 16-40”), the lack of locks on Cargo Bay 2 where she regenerates, and many other aspects that I'm sure I'm forgetting now... Ignorant, ‘default’ assumptions on how things ‘are’ that the show simply refuses to acknowledge. I know they only seem so obvious now because more than twenty years have passed since Star Trek: Voyager was on the air and the culture (in the US) has changed so much since then. This, I agree, is the kind of fucked up that I could easily do without and Seven's story would be better for it.

So in conclusion, when I say that Seven's situation is fucked up it's not so much because I think Kathryn Janeway should have chosen differently when it came to her; it's more that Seven's arc on Voyager is very complicated, for the most part, by design. Even if I think Janeway could've handled some things in a different way, in most cases it makes sense for her character to have taken those decisions regarding Seven, and I don't always think it would've made for a better story if she hadn't. Obviously I wish the production-level assumptions weren't there, and I think part of what Star Trek: Picard did right in its first season was flipping a lot of those assumptions on their head in just a handful of episodes where Seven appears.

Personally I find it valuable to keep in mind that Seven's storyline on Voyager can be complicated and fucked up without necessarily wanting to make it ‘better’. It still is interesting and effective because it's far from perfect, because everyone tried the best they could given the very difficult circumstances, because we've never seen the whole crew, much less the Captain, outside of survival mode. Yet Seven is also a survivor of almost unimaginable violence and coercion and it makes sense, I think, that her presence regularly poses ethical challenges to what other characters and even the audience might consider ‘right choices’ or ‘right behavior’. Survivors in real life, I think, often challenge our societies (none of them perfect, and where many also live in survival mode) in precisely the same way.

[signanothername]

hhhhhhh i love your art so much man it's just so rrrrrrrrg words can even describe it 💥💥💥

butt like like genuinely how do you figure out poses and shit that fit who you draw so well likeee

idk me personally i just struggle with that stuff, yk always stuck with the -looking front on with hands in pockets- or the dreaded -peace sign with hand in pocket- fjdjdj

sorry for the yap sesh butttt any advice would be like so cool

also the way you portray killer and nm is like godly just 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

HDHDHHDHD THANK YOU <333333

And oooh that’s a very valid struggle, cause the thing is, I used to struggle a lot with posing characters in a way that actually satisfied me, going for the stiff front look a lot dhdhhdhdh

But the thing is with art, is that it isn’t just lines on a page y’know? At least, I stopped treating my art as such, every time i draw an artwork i want the artwork to tell who sees it something, I treat every artwork as a story in of itself

Ok imma generally give you what I learned from my art journey so far, i’m gonna start with a more general advice and then get to how I choose poses for certain characters, and imma try to explain the best I can but I can be really bad with wording things so bear with me

Art can be difficult cause different art concepts are interconnected with each other, so sometimes you need to think of so many things just to be able to do something as simple as posing a character

Before we start tho, here are 2 tips:

-everything you know about anatomy? Throw it out the window, no i’m not joking I’m being completely serious

The reason many artists suffer with making dynamic poses is cause they think too much about anatomy, they think the anatomy should look correct and perfect, and no, anatomy is the biggest reason the pose you draw is going to be stiff, you need to forget “correct” anatomy if you want your poses to feel alive and dynamic

- practice gesture/figure art, IM ON MY KNEES I BEG YOU, cause it teaches you to let go of perfect anatomy and actually learn how to draw figures in motion (which is extremely important for fluid and dynamic poses!)

———

With that in mind, here are a few things i keep in mind when posing a character:

1- line of action

You hear these three damn words a lot yet no matter how much you research them you can never find a good explanation for what they mean (me after i researched this bullshit so much shbdhdhhs)

But simply put, think of the action line as the spine in a human, the more you bend it outta shape the more dynamic the pose is going to be

And it’s genuinely so important cause it can make a very simple pose such as a character standing doing nothing much more dynamic when you put line of action in mind

Even a very slight bend in the line can make the pose more natural/dynamic, because an action line dictates the movement of a character

So if you want to avoid a stiff pose? Avoid a straight action line (you gotta make that action line Queer af💅✨✨✨✨)

But here’s a mind fuckery, the tricky thing with action lines is that it’s better if you keep them in mind but not consciously think of them if that makes sense

You gotta understand them and implement them and practice them, but when you draw a character posing a certain way, thinking too much of the action line can actually make it difficult to maintain and in turn, makes your art stiff af too

Like you got to internalize this concept and to keep it in your subconscious rather than actually consciously think about it when you draw your artworks

Ok Anó, how the fuck do i do that? Start with practicing them consciously by actually drawing the action line and then the pose in art studies, and then level yourself up by practicing them by drawing characters posing a certain way WITHOUT putting an action line first, i’m sorry to say there’s no way around it, there are no short cuts

Here’s a helpful visual guide/summary of what i mean by the paragraph above cause words suck

(but sooner or later, what you learned gets burned into your muscle memory, and your hand would start doing all the work without you consciously thinking about it, then congrats!! Action lines are now part of your subconscious)

Ok but does that mean straight lines are bad/should never be used?? NO

I can never emphasize how important straight lines can be

One thing that’s beautiful in art is that there’s no such thing as “bad” or “wrong”, art is subjective, and something that’s perceived as “wrong” by one artist, can be right/ something implemented in another artist’s artstyle that makes it unique

In fact, straight action lines can be great to use depending on what you wish people to take/understand from your art (a simple example: a turn around reference sheet for a character tends to use straight lines, cause in a reference sheet you focus on clarity, and drawing with queer lines can cause that clarity to be thrown out the window)

But I especially love to use straight Action lines with Killer, I sometimes make him stiff as a fucking rock and it’s completely intentional on my part, cause i love to use stiff poses to enhance the uncomfortable/unnatural atmosphere Killer gives, or to further emphasize an already uncomfortable situation

So to summarize, if you wish your poses be more natural/dynamic and to avoid stiff poses, use queer Action lines, but straight lines are also great to use depending on what you want people to understand from your art

———

2- perspective (camera angle)

Variety is key!

What is the perspective you want to focus on? I know this seems like it doesn’t have anything to do with posing a character, but it does, (remember, art concepts are interconnected!) cause the perspective you decide to draw from can also influence the pose you decide to draw or vice versa, and help you make the pose more dynamic

Hell sometimes, perspective can do the poses justice even if they’re literally the most boring stiff poses you’ve ever drawn chchchhcch

Like are you going to draw the character from an upper perspective? Lower? Fish-eye? Third person? First person?

Is the perspective tilted? Is it normal?

What is the perspective you want and why did you choose it? What are you trying to tell the people who see your art?

Here are a few tips when it comes to perspective:

-More dynamic perspectives (upper/lower) are good for artworks that have tension in them, or have some sort of stakes going on (fights, horror, uncomfortable situations)

That of course doesn’t mean they can’t be used to simply make your artwork look cool :D

-choosing how many vanishing points there are (one,two or three points perspective) can also make your art tell a different story depending on the situation you’ve chosen them for

-and most importantly, when you draw a pose, foreshortening is going to happen to the body depending on the perspective!!

But my point is, I make sure i draw in variety, sometimes I draw the character from upper, lower, tilted or even a mix of all of them, all to enhance my poses to look more dynamic/natural

Ok Anó, got it, but what if I don’t care to include a crazy perspective and i want to draw in a normal perspective? Then how do i make my poses more dynamic?

That brings me to my next 2 points

———

3- camera shots

Same as perspective, there has to be variety!

Your art doesn’t always have to be full body, try to draw different shots, draw a headshot, draw closeup shots draw half bodies

If you go for different shots then you’ll be forced to think of different poses to fit such shots :D

———

4-bodies are like little toys, break them

One thing you can do to bring more variety to your poses is to have different body parts facing different directions, not all limbs have to face the same direction >:)

Generally the characters don’t have to face front! Try to mix it up and draw from the side or back

———

5-emotional weight and a story to tell

And this is where i’ll bring my point about treating my art as a story back

A really good way to actually put variety in your poses is to treat any sort of artwork/sketch you make as a story you’re trying to tell

Before you draw a character posing a certain way ask yourself, why is this character posing this way? What are/were they doing before that pose? Are they alone or are they reacting to something/someone?

Is there a point to them posing this way? (It’s ok if there’s no actual point to it! But the poses still would need to tell a story regardless)

Cause if you’re posing them reacting to another character (off screen for example), you pose them in a way that makes sense for their emotions of the other character right? (So if the character has negative feelings towards the other one then it makes more sense to draw them in a defensive stance or a fight or flight pose)

If you’re drawing them all alone then what are they doing alone, are they doing something important or is it their off time? If it’s their off time what are they doing for their off time? Do they like to spend it reading a book for example? What are they reading? Is it a horror novel that makes them scared? If yes then how do they deal with fear? Do they throw the book across the room or do they hide under a blanket?

Cause a pose also holds emotional weight, it shows you what emotions the character is exhibiting, it’s not just the expression of the character that tells you about their emotions, it’s their body language, and body language can be translated through poses

Let’s say they’re doing a peace sign pose for example, why are they doing it? Are they taking a picture with someone they love or are they doing it to annoy someone? Hell maybe they’re being forced to do it, and so they do it half heartedly maybe?

Get what I’m trying to say?

———

And now with all of the above in mind, time to get to the most important thing and the main point of this post

How do I choose poses for certain characters?

6- personality

who am I sketching? Cause each character is unique and each character is gonna act a certain way other characters won’t, and depending on the situation, the poses change too

Understand the character and how they act, try to analyze them and take in their quirks and behaviors, and before you draw a pose for them actually ask yourself, would this character EVER do this pose?

Like you say you fall in the peace sign trap right? Now think about a peace sign pose, but with Nightmare… it doesn’t make sense right? Cause the pose is an absolute striking contrast to Nightmare’s personality, like Nightmare would never do a peace sign till the day he dies, hell i’m sure if he’s forced to choose between death and doing a peace sign he’d choose death (it’s a lot more mercifull than the humiliation he’d feel making a peace sign hcchchch)

See what I’m getting at?

For example, I draw Nightmare with his hands behind his back a lot, but you won’t see me do the same with other characters often, not cause other characters would never put their hands behind their backs, but because it’s a quirk in Nightmare’s character, Nightmare TENDS to do that a lot, he acts so formal and royal like, and so i draw him do it a lot

But here’s the thing, if i draw other characters having their hands behind their backs like i do with Nightmare, i do it in a way that makes sense for them! An example is how i draw Nightmare and Dream with their hands behind their backs :D

But I also keep in mind Nightmare’s character, so whenever I pose him a certain way, I ask myself “would Nightmare actually stand/sit/lie down like that?” If the answer is yes, then I continue, if not then i change it to fit Nightmare

To further explain, I tend to think Nightmare is defensive in nature, so you’d see that I also pose him in a way that reflects that, with his hands crossed in front of his chest for example or generally his hands close to his body, sometimes hunched in on himself, I also think Nightmare is egotistical and self centric, but most importantly, he sees himself as an elegant King, and so I draw him crossing his legs or generally have him sit in such a formal manner or a hand on hip kinda pose etc

So when you draw a pose ask yourself if it fits the personality, mindset, and pattern of behavior for said character!

———

With all that being said, while it’s amazing to be able to do a variety of poses, I think it’s also important to keep in mind that art is supposed to be fun, take your time trying to learn, don’t overwork or frustrate yourself with learning new things, and it’s completely fine to not do poses that have meaning sometimes (do that peace sign to your heart’s content <333) it took me 10 whole years to get where i am today, and compared to many other artists my own progress is extremely slow, and it used to bother me cause I treated art like there was some sort of deadline above my head and that I should learn things in a timely manner (which is absolute bullshit), my point is, take your time with learning poses, even if it takes you years, the important thing is that you will get there eventually <33333

———

Finally, here is one art resource for poses that i think is really good/useful

Keep on creating and hope my endless ramble helps a lil chchchchchch <33333

[thecatsaesthetics]

But Rhys took Feyre's choice away in ACOSF and is as bad as Tamlin

Disclaimer - I am going to state up front SJM shouldn't have told this story through Nesta's POV. It is an incredibly complex storyline in it's own right and deserved to be told through Feyre's POV.

However, fans tend to make several claims about the story that I want to either debunk or combat. You can still hate the storyline (I hate how it was told as well) but twisting canon to suit your own narrative isn’t right.

(I am using this timeline for the series, which is the most in-depth timeline I have ever found.)

Let's begin

What actually happened in canon:

Rhys and Feyre were actively attempting to have a baby since the end of ACOFAS (December 21st). Feyre announces her pregnancy to the group 16 days into the start of ACOSF. She says she is "two months along". ACOSF is canonically 10 months after ACOFAS. Meaning Feyre and Rhys conceive Nyx in August.

31 days into ACOSF Rhys and Feyre find out via Madja Nyx has wings. Feyre would be heading into her second trimester. Rhys knows the baby wings pose a problem (as does Madja). Madja informed Feyre the birth would be "more difficult" but does not state the baby will kill her. Rhys sets out on finding a way to save Feyre and the baby.

33 days into ACOSF Rhys goes to Drakon and Miryam to ask about the wings. They give him nothing but sad looks.

40 days into ACOSF Helion visits and is asked by Rhys about the wings and says he will look into it.

43 days into ACOSF Nesta, in a fit of rage, tells Feyre her baby is going to die and kill her.

So canonically Feyre does not know for 12 days. So, around two weeks, Feyre is unaware the chances she will die in labor are incredibly heightened.

That is really important, it is not months they are keeping this from Feyre. It also doesn't seem likely Rhys or any of the IC would have let Feyre give birth without knowing what was happening. It also seems likely Rhys was pending more information from Helion who had 3 days to look into things before Nesta had her outburst.

While again it's not explicitly said I believe SJMs implication is that Rhys was exhausting all efforts prior to telling Feyre. Which is something Feyre would have done herself, since we know she wanted Nyx, and rather then let Feyre's pregnancy be ruined by fear (especially if an answer was out there) Rhys decides to take the burden on himself.

Is it necessarily right? I don't think so, but is it done to specifically control Feyre? (Like Tamlin's actions were) No. It's done because Rhys cannot bring himself to take Feyre's happiness away from her. Feyre is described as being so happy in ACOSF, she finally has everything she's ever wanted. She has her mate, her family, her home, security, and is awaiting the arrival of her baby. Feyre has her gotten her "happy ending" and who would want to take that from someone? This is something Rhys was struggling with in ACOFAS, the idea that he does not deserve to be happy with Feyre.

I hate that we get it told through Nesta and Cassian's POV, because honestly this would have been a good Feysand plotline and would have dealt with the remaining issues that were hinted at in ACOFAS.

Commonly incorrect statements by the fandom

"Rhysand forced Feyre to stay pregnant because he valued the baby's life over hers" -

This is canonically not true. Feyre is the one who wanted to get pregnant. Ignoring this is missing the point entirely, Feyre wanted to start her family.

Second, while Rhys clearly loves Nyx it seems his concern was for her and not for Nyx:

Cassian squeezed Rhys’s shoulder. “Why won’t you tell her?” Rhys’s throat worked. “Because I can’t bring myself to give her that fear. To take away one bit of the joy in her eyes every time she puts a hand on her belly.” His voice shook. “It is fucking eating me alive, this terror. I keep myself busy, but … there is no one to bargain with for her life, no amount of wealth to buy it, nothing that I can do to save her.”

His concern is for Feyre and the fact that she is going to die while in labor. He doesn't even mention Nyx dying, and it's said Nyx will die in the labor as well.

"Rhys prevented Feyre from getting an abortion" -

So first we need to ask ourself, are abortions a thing in Pyrthian? We don't get any mentions of them and fae children are rare. I would suspect in Pyrthian they aren't a thing, but maybe in the human lands.

Second, by the time Rhys and Feyre find out about the wings it's been 31 days into ACOSF and when the baby was announced she was two months pregnant, which is frustrating because we don't know if she means two months on the dot or two months and a few days. It's then 15 more days till the wings are discovered she is anywhere between 11/12 weeks pregnant.

It's important to remember pregnancies are not defined by months, they are defined by weeks. If you are 11/12 weeks pregnant the abortion you get is more complicated then at 8 or 9 weeks. So it seems even if she could have an abortion (if that's a thing in Prythian) that she would have had to pass the fetal tissue.

Remember the problem isn't that the baby is sick or causing Feyre to be sick. Feyre is described as being healthy and radiant all throughout ACOSF. The pregnancy isn't the issue, it's the birth. The wings will supposably get caught and not be able to pass through the birthing canal. So even if she had an abortion those wings are getting caught and preventing the tissue from passing. We later see the size of the wings don't matter, because Feyre gives birth preterm and it still kills her.

And it will be challenging enough during a birth when the baby is alive but if they preform an abortion you're talking dead tissue being stuck in Feyre as they attempt to pull it out of her piece by piece.

That could kill her as well.

So when Rhys says "nothing I can do to save her life" he means it. As long as Feyre gives birth/passes those wings in her fae body she's dead.

The only in universe solution is for Feyre to transform back into an Illyrian form (I'll get into that later). That's it, nothing else could save her and in fact what happens is Nesta bargains for Feyre's life and then permanently changes her body to be Illyrian. So the solution was to shapeshift.

"Nesta told Feyre because she thought it was wrong"

That's not true, in fact Nesta agreed to say nothing and was later sorry for even telling Feyre. So no she did not tell Feyre because she thought it was an injustice.

Nesta was bitter and hurt by other things that happened (I am not going into it) and decided to hurt her sister back. She told her in the most brutal and awful way possible.

She easily could have caused Feyre to go into preterm labor and didn't care if that happened. If Feyre had gone into preterm labor with no solution to get the baby out then she would have died.

"Feyre's choice was taken from her"

So if we rule out abortion, and go with shapeshifting I don't see how anyone concludes that the 12 days Feyre does not know takes that choice from her. Even for the 12 days with the abortion idea, she still could have done it. She makes a choice not to, Feyre does not go into labor unaware of the risks.

Going back to shapeshifting, Rhys says this:

“So let her change back into an Illyrian to bear the babe.” Rhys’s face was stark. “Madja has put a ban on any more shape-shifting. She says that to alter Feyre’s body in any way right now could put the baby at risk. On the chance that it could be bad for the baby, Feyre is forbidden to so much as change the color of her hair until after the birth.”

So originally it's Madja who says shape-shifting is banned but sorry I do not see how Madja is going to control Feyre. During the announcement scene we get this from Feyre:

Nesta angled her head at her sister. “So you can’t do magic while pregnant?” Feyre winced. “I can, but given my unusual set of gifts, I’m not sure how it might impact the baby. Winnowing is fine, but some other powers, when we’re still so early in the pregnancy, could strain my body dangerously.”

Feyre is given the medical opinion of Madja on her doing magic and chooses to follow it.

And the nail in the coffin that it wasn't Feyre's choice is the birth scene itself:

“There is nothing we can do,” Madja said. “Cutting the babe out of her will kill her.” “Cutting it out?” Nesta demanded, earning a sharp glare from Rhys. Madja ignored her tone. “An incision along her abdomen, even one carefully made, is an enormous risk. It’s never been successful. And even with Feyre’s healing abilities, the blood loss has weakened her—” “Do it,” Feyre managed to say, the words weighted with pain. “Feyre,” Rhys objected. “The babe likely won’t survive,” Madja said, voice gentle but no-nonsense. “It’s too small yet. We risk both of you.” “All of you,” Cassian breathed, eyes on Rhys. “Do it,” Feyre said, and her voice was that of the High Lady. No fear. Only determination for the life of the babe within her. Feyre looked up at Rhys. “We have to.”

While it isn't explicitly mentioned, the scene prior is discussions about saving Nyx not about saving Feyre. Madja says "we risk both of you" implying their is a way to just save Feyre. That way would be shapeshifting, something Feyre is refusing to do in this moment. Rhys is the one who is objecting to the c-section and Feyre insists that "We have to". Feyre chooses to have the c-section and attempt to save her son.

Conclusion:

I don't think we can conclude Feyre's choice was taken from her, in fact it seems she made a choice not to shapeshift and save herself. That might feel like pro life propaganda and maybe it is (I don't know SJMs stance on this) but a mother choosing to go through with a risky pregnancy and delivery is still her making that choice. Just because it's not the choice you would make or like, doesn't make it any less of a choice.

It's really odd how people twist this storyline to fit a narrative of "Rhys is just as bad as Tamlin" and while I can understand the similarities, (both being born out of fear and trauma) it just isn't the same. Tamlin watched as Feyre became sicker and sicker, and ignored her. Tamlin forced Feyre back to the Spring Court after she told him she didn't want to be taken from Rhys and the IC. Tamlin slut shamed her during the HL meeting. Tamlin was actively attempting to control Feyre's behavior and get her to fit what he wanted for her.

Rhys found out horrible information (on top of all the other shit that was going on in ACOSF) about the life of his mate and child. His mate who was currently overjoyed at the idea of being pregnant and having a baby. And he wanted to find a way to save her before giving her the fear, anxiety, and distress he was suffering. It wasn't about controlling her, and it wasn't about having some super baby. It wasn't the right thing to do but he didn't do it out wanting to control Feyre. That's important information and something that shouldn't be twisted.

You can dislike it (as I've stated I hate it being told in Nessian POV) but you shouldn't twist things to fit your narrative.

[wambos-storytime-corner]

7 Deadly Diapers, Ch. 3: Gluttony pt. 3 (TW: Addiction, weight shaming)

“The.. the stuff in the.. um.. the gym bag—?“

“You mean your diaper bag? Ugh, yeah. I want you to put it on.” Whitney, feeling a new sense of power and independence smiled at the chance to put her husband well beneath her. Something had overcome her and she had begun to feel so free.

“But it’s so— so…” he gulped and tapped his fingers.

“So what, Ethan? Ironic? Poetic? Fitting? You have been treating me like shit so long and you think you get to just let me nurse you?— Which, don’t even get me started on how crazy that prospect is— but you seriously believe that you get to act like none of that ever happened? Nuh-uh. Think again. I wanna watch you put it on. Then MAYBE I’ll think about feeding you.” She reveled in the power bestowed to her by her wish. How this was all happening was far from being something she had on her mind. Her only concern was how to milk this miracle for all it was worth. Literally…

Her suddenly submissive husband wanted to retaliate but unfortunately there wasn’t a rebellious bone in his body that could override his lust for latching onto the generous nipple of his wife’s breasts. So, cringing, he soldiers on and swaddles himself into his diaper.

“That’s right.. plenty of powder. Top tapes first. No. No no. Ugh! I have to do everything for you don’t i…” taking charge she straps the remainder of the big hulking weight lifter into his shameful, powdery, prison-like pampers. Then came the onesie which was swiftly squeezed overtop of him, snapping it all shut. Unlucky for the big buff baby, it was just tight enough in the crotch to make him constantly aware of the bulk under his butt and groin.

But even more bizarrely, he noticed an odd sensation hugging his arms and torso.. his burly, masculine physique was compressed and compacted beneath the soft tight leotard more and more before both him and his wife’s eyes until he was nothing but a scrawny, girlish wimp of a man. It looks like he’d struggle lifting a 10 pound box now! The onesie had eaten all that hard work and in turn his confidence shriveled along with it. He looked panicked at his wife who’s face was anything but empathetic. She just cackled down at her new harmless, weakling of a spouse basking in her and her wish’s devilish craftsmanship, punctuating it all with a full palmed grip on his plush rump.

“Dawww! There we go! God, don’t you look just darling…” she covered her lips with a malicious snicker, “Now how about you strike some poses for me and while you’re at it you can ask me EXACTLY what you want. And keep it extra polite Mr. ‘This body doesn’t happen from whining and eating cheat pizzas’.” She smirks looking at her meek little husband contentedly whilst pulling her phone out to snap pics.

Ethan grimaced at the mental quandary he found himself toiling with along with the mourning he felt for his once perfect body. He couldn’t admit his desires without undermining what he’d faulted Whitney with earlier. And with all that had been taken he couldn’t bear the thought of giving up his pride any further and admit he was wrong! All he had left was his integrity! His self-certainty! His sense of discipline against his own bodily urges and cravings!…

Which made the feeling of defeat all the more painful as his eyes returned to his wife’s gorgeous, Siren-like breasts. All he could do was lick his lips, strike a pose for his wife, and buckle under the crushing weight of his deepest desires.

“I’ll do anything for a taste of you. Please, Whitney…” his drool oozed down over his chin as he gave her the show of a lifetime.

“That’s mommy from now on. And that’s a good start. But anything really broadens the scope don’t you think? Anyone can SAY they’ll do anything, but I want to see actions. And I have an idea on how you can prove precisely that. So, if you really want your big, warm, juicy dessert.. you gotta clean your plate first, bubs~!”

(Sorry for the delay. Works been crazy and I had to get some extra photos! Hope this will make up for it! 🥰)

[nyaagolor]

Something that really gets me about Nemona is that despite having the social awareness of a brick wall, there are a few cases where you can see her have a complete demeanor flip if you respond negatively to her questions and I am SO interested in those. Her eyebrows furrow, she brings her hand closer to her face like she's visibly curling up, and she looks genuinely concerned-- whether ur saying you want to rain check a battle or you don't want to be her friend. It's such an extreme reaction to ultimately trivial things, but in combination with her railroading you / being her overzealous self and the way she panics about coming off too strong, it just gives me pause

I'm probably overthinking this, but those strong reactions remind of kids who were told they're Too Much by the adults in their lives and then get stuck in a push-pull of doing what comes naturally to them but also trying to be cognizant of when they're being Too Much as they struggle to grapple with social cues. Nemona only ever seeming to realize when she's crossed a line after someone tells her that explicitly or responds badly to her just gives me such confused neurodivergent teenager vibes, it is driving me insane. She acknowledges her emotional distance from other students and worries out loud to the player about Coming Off Too Strong in their first meeting, but doesn't seem to connect those ideas with any specific behavior she's doing, and the entire thing is just setting "autistic high school sophomore" alarms off in my brain

It really feels to me like a case of someone who has internalized the understanding that they're too overwhelming for others after having been told it countless times, but doesn't understand WHY; just stuck in this loop of getting negative reactions and desperately trying to work backwards from there to figure out what about them and their behavior is scaring people off. She immediately goes from this boundless confidence to insecurity (shown via pose or dialogue) the literal second she's faced with a "no" and it really makes me think it's because she's terrified of losing you as a friend and sees ur negative reactions as a precursor to that. In the absence of an actual understanding of how her own actions drive people away she's stuck relying on your reactions, and something like a simple "no" reads as a red flag that she may have crossed some invisible line that everyone else but her seems to see. (slaps her forehead) u can fit so much autism in here

[moonlight-tmd]

Prowlbee, ShockBee, Blitzbee

Kink head cannons.

Oooh dear- that was bound to get into my inbox at some point. Welp, here we go.

ATTENTION: this blog has a unique version of interfacing so read this post to know what's up!!

(CW: A whole lot of dirty)

ProwlBee

Prowl would defo be into breeding and all the animal-related kinks. Even tho Cybertronians have different biology from earth's animals he still finds ways for them to work stuff out. (octopus breeding, for example) They have a bunch of different poses to do the deed that they like.

Roleplaying as feral and broody are one of the ways they go at it.

Bee defo has some marking kink and loves to leave scratches and bites all over Prowl.

Prowl is mostly the bottom, although he doesn't mind having a go at Bee when the mini wants it.

They both love some sensory play- Bee's horns are sensitife to help him navigate the surroundings but also are very fun to play with during the act. Prowl is sensititve to sound and light so having Bee vent and whisper into his audial defo does things to him. Blindfold makes it even better.

I guess they're into bondage a little bit- I mean, most female animals are pinned down while the male breeds them therefore Prowl would be into being tied up/having limited movement and letting Bee wreck him while he helplessly struggles.

BlitzBee

Both of them are a bit of masochists- c'mon what did you expect.

They're reallly into marking, although Blitzwing has to be very careful because Bee is much more fragile than him.

They're switches, but Bee's topping score is a lot higher than Blitz's.

Blitzwing is into praise, he never really got any and loves when Bee whispers all those sweet things, dirty or not, into his audials while he ravages his insides. Bee is 50/50 on praise and degradation; he loves when Blitzwing tells him how much he loves him/his frame while also scolding him for trouble/being an aft.

Size difference. Bee loves to be strangled by Blitz's thick meaty tentacles and have that sweet sensory input all on him. Bee's tentacles are thin but quite long and very easy to get into all the little cracks and crevices at the sensitive spark chamber.

Blitz's glossa itself is a lot like a tentacle so Bee loves it when Blitz lick his tentacles and with it- Bee's still a little bit nervous when Blitz brings his intake close to something so small and fragile as his spark chamber but trusts him to not eat it. (which Blitzwing would NEVER do, not to his hummel)

Bondage for Blitzwing. I cannot stress enough how much he loves being tied up by Bee and having him do all the amazing things to him- he was scared at first but began to absolutely love it over time. Bee likes to have power over Blitz like that.

Edging, these two cannot go without having as least a little bit of teasing. They both love to make the other one beg them to finally do some real action.

Vore. Blitz is adamant to squeeze Bee into his intake and have him be all snug and comfy inside...and maybe have some more kinky action going as well. Bee wasn't as excited for this as Blitz but it eventually rubbed off on him and he gets a little horny whenever Blitz licks or puts his limb into his intake. To Bee's surprise, Blitz actually put effort into preparing himself to eat Bee; Blitzwing has eaten a lot of stuff over his years of existence, many which were not made for consumption, his fuel tank could handle almost anything. He made sure his throat could fit something larger and that all the system commands worked perfectly so he wouldn't accidentally digest Bee (which was very alluring and kinky but he couldn't allow it.) They have one of those giant spools or wire that Bee ties around his leg/arm so Blitzwing can pull him out easier. Whenever he's inside Blitz, he has to have this protective shield-coat (think like a glove around his whole frame) over himself so his own exposed parts don't get damaged by Blitz's internal fluids... also his paint, he does not have an excuse to explain why he's missing paint/has to get new one so often. Blitz loves having an "internal massage" done while he (and Bee) self-service. Bee loves the tight space and its walls squeezing him everytime Blitz moves.

ShockBee

Shockwave/Longarm loves to be in control. He loves to immobilize Bee and tell him what to do/say as well as delay/force his overloads.

Bondage is a huge thing for both of them, Shock/Long doesn't even need a rope to tie Bee up and have him all exposed. Same with Bee, he'll just maneuver his way around enough and have Long/Shock tangled up in his own limbs and at Bee's mercy.

Shock/Long loves to praise Bee- just tell him every single thing he loves about him and how good he's doing.

Bee loves how Longarm's body is all thick and plumpy. Loves to grope it when the mech least expects it during the fun. He's surprisingly flexible which allows them to try out a bunch of different poses.

Now for the bonus fun! AUs!

Cyberbeast AU (ProwlBee)

Prowl knows Cyberbeasts are like earth animals and that they too have their breeding season once a year. During that one week Prowl is basically kidnapped and ravaged over and over and over again- Bee, quite literally, is trying to breed him real good and Prowl loves it.

Prowl is into doing it while Bee's in his beast alt. He loves when Bee growls and bites at everything he can and rubs his scent on him. Even in half alts he does it.

Bee loves getting praise, he puts on intentionaly displays to further enchant his mate. Prowl is half into body worshipping Bee on this- he's just so amazed by the beauty of his one and only.

Prowl is always the bottom, he has no choice (not that he complains) but to get pinned down, barely able to ventilate and get wrecked.

Prowl actually persuaded Bee into wearing collars and leashes while they do it. They have a pet/owner roleplay whenever that happens.

Warframe!Bumblebee AU (BlitzBee)

Brasshorn/Bumblebee loves having Blitz immobilized and left to his mercy. He loves to be in control but in a way that'll let him drown Blitz in pleasure and bliss and not command him.

Brass/Bee loves to praise Blitz and worshipping his frame as if it was the most perfect one to ever exist.

Blitz really wants to top but Brass/Bee doesn't let him, only for special occasions (he has to be functional for work).

Blits is into BDSM and really wants to be ravaged by his mate but Brass/Bee is always careful with him- unless he begs long enough, then he'll wreck him in the best ways possible straight on his workbench.

Civil!Blitzwing AU (BlitzBee)

Blitzwing loves when Bee dirty talks and degrades him, Bee loves when Blitz praises him.

Blitz loves a bit of pain play- he's full of dirty little secrets he has yet to uncover.

Part-Insecticon!Bumblebee AU (BlitzBee)

Feeding kink. After hatching from the cocoon, Bee can produce honey. Blitzwing loves to eat it, more so when Bee sits on top of him and feeds it to him- even more so when it's mouth-to-mouth and they can enjoys all the sweetest kisses in the world.

Praise and worship, wings specifically. fligh frames have in-build thing for wings; Blitz adores Bee's sparkly wings and knowing their history he doesn't hold back about them when he's praising Bee. Bee is often too overstimulated to do the same but he'll let Blitz know by grabbing his wings and caressing/pulling at them.

Bee has a valve under his abdomen after hatching, and it gets really leaky when the two have fun. Blitzwing has Bee (carefully) pinned down with one servo while he passionatelly make out with him, ravages Bee's insides with his tentacles, and roughly fingers the valve giving Bee way too much stimulation on all ends. Bee loves it, even though he's numb for the entire day afterwards.

Bee loves to rub himself on Blitzwing and leave the sweet perfume on him, Bee got claws too so he'll leave tiny scratches on Blitz- most often his wings, to claim him into the hive.

Sparkeater!Bumblebee AU (ShockBee)

Since Bee and Long/Shock can't really interface because of the risk of contracting the disease, they have to come up with other ways to pleasure themselves. One way is to self-service one another.

Long/Shock has acquired an improved lab protection shield-coat (force field that sits on you like a glove) before he came to earth, this allowed them to actually interface without (most of) the stress about transmitting the disease via energy/fluids. (it shift with the body but never lets anything inside)

It's a rarity for Bee and Long/Shock to play the life and death game, but when they do- Long/Shock brings Bee a live spark to devour before they have fun, Bee uses his sparkeater form to get all kinky with bondage and marking (always with protection). Long/Shock loves the sense of danger when Bee licks his tentacles, slowly inching closer to his spark chamber. Bee would never do this to him and with a tank occupied he's barely any hungry.

Also some stand-alone Bee kinks cuz I like him-

Bee loves dress up, he'll put on fancy lingerie for his beloved and behave the part of a good "caretaker" while pleasing his mate.

Bee is a certified top, sometimes he bottoms but mostly he's in charge. Tiny top bias showing-

Choking/Squishing/Size difference. He loves a good hefty mate, and almost everyone is bigger than him so it makes sense- the bigger the better.

Praise- this guy loves to get his ego rubbed, especially during fun times. He loves the attention thoroughly.

Always aftercare, he'll do his best to actually take care of his beloved after the fun.

[dalighteevee]

Coraline Review (Warning: Potential Spoilers)

To celebrate its 15th Anniversary, I will review one of my favourite films Coraline. The film was released in 2009 by Laika as its first film and directed by Henry Selick of Nightmare Before Christmas fame (another one of my favourite films). The film was an adaptation of a book by Neil Gaiman that was released in 2002. When I first watched it, I did have the often joked-about childhood scares from some of the more disturbing imagery, definitely didn't help my fear of needles. But enjoying the effort and beauty of the film always reduces the fear to me. Being able to rewatch it in remastered 3D was glorious and something I highly recommend to any fan of the film, really helps highlight particular scenes. So let's walk through the tiny door and into the world of Coraline.

One of my favourite types of films and film effects is stop-motion animation with some favourite film studios being the aforementioned Laika alongside Aardman of Wallace & Gromit fame. The care and skill it takes at every step of production is something I could never take for granted when watching the films and behind-the-scenes features. Every detail is finely crafted to build the world of the film with features such as the Jones family portrait which reveals Coraline to share her mother's black hair. Even this detail alone has many strands behind it regarding the initial character design of Coraline, originally making her have blue streaks rather than a full blue head of hair, as well as in-film showing the disconnect between her and her parents. To me, the animation in the film is gorgeous and was a perfect medium for the story in my opinion.

One of the first things I prioritise and appreciate when engaging with media is the characters. To me, if there isn't a single character I like, it's a pass for me. Fortunately, Coraline does its characters justice in my eyes. With intriguing designs and brilliant chemistry and dynamics between them. A good example being the Amazing Bobinksy/Mr B. At first glance his blue skin seems odd considering everyone else has realistic skin tones. But the medal helps put a perspective on it. It is believed that Mr B is a survivor of Chernobyl which explains the skin along with the medal, a medal of honour. My top 3 favourites are Coraline, the Cat, and the Beldam/Other Mother. To begin with, I enjoy Coraline's spunky personality, shown through her headstrong attitude and sarcastic remarks, is something I enjoy. There is also her intellect and quick planning as seen with her final stand off with the Beldam. For the cat I am a huge cat lover since I grew up with them. The voice acting by Keith David helps bring the cat a mysterious but cocky presence. Even when he's a simple cat that doesn't speak, you can still tell his personality through his actions alongside the adherence to following cat behaviours such as slow blinks. The Beldam is one of my favourite villains of all time for how effective she is in her role. She is able to pose a genuine threat towards our hero alongside portraying a genuine threat to.the audience. Cause to me, she is an example I would use when warning others of predators and manipulators. Not all predators have to be outwardly creepy, sometimes a friendly face can be more dangerous. I also adore her design and how it gradually shifts through each visit. Each time we see her we can see her become more spider-like before her actual reveal which I enjoy as someone who loves rewatches.

When it comes to the story of Coraline, it is a simple yet effective one. The message I gain from the film is being able to appreciate what you have yet not be shamed for wanting change. Coraline starts the film with distance between her and her parents, struggling to find her place in a new place and situation. She feels she doesn't fit in. But from her journey in the film she grows to see it in a new way, ironically from the wonders the Other Mother created. By the end she starts connecting with her parents and the neighbours, realising that she could help bring the change she originally wanted at the start.

To be honest, I don't have a lot of personal critiques to the film. More just small nitpicks. When reading the book a reference is made towards a creature that lurks within the doorway between the worlds, something more malevolent and older than the Beldam. A hint towards it would have been an enjoyable nod towards book readers.

But in conclusion, I adore this film and I don't think I could ever get tired of it. The mystical soundtrack and gorgeous art style will be stuck in my head. I would always recommend Coraline as a film to watch to newbies or as a Halloween flick. Hope you guys enjoyed reading and staying positive!

[dearweirdme]

Hey, can ya'll please help me to determine if I'm going crazy or not because I'm not a shipper and honestly think shipping is kinda silly and fetish-y but I saw something really kinda weird to me and now I can't find it. I'm a tae bias so I sometimes cross paths with taekookers on social media whether I like it or not. (I'm not trying to be demeaning coz I might end up one of ya'll tomorrow or something depending how this turns out lol) and I saw a clip that I completely lost track of. I accidently refreshed while trying to replay it and now I can't find it on my feed but it was of a performance of life goes on and it was JK focused and the tweeter was claiming that JK was kinda like mapping out Tae's moles on his own face (jks face) and you know what, I think that motherfucker was right! He was touching his face and I KNOW taes face so I'm almost 95% certain that he was actually tracking the places where his moles are and if that's really what happened then I'm struggling to find a platonic reason why the f someone would??? Like this is one thing (and I've seen some nonsense) that isn't giving bros being bros to me at all. He did it so fluid as well.

So the performance is life goes on and JK has the icy blonde half slick back, half shaved and the stage and the guys are in white or icy blue. Like the whole performance looked very icy and very winter.

I'd appreciate it of anyone knew where to find it so I can take another look and ideally look at the whole performance to see if there's context I'm missing or of anyone knows what I'm talking about and has any context and wouldn't mind sharing.

I'm not looking to shit on this ship or anything. I don't ship because I genuinely don't believe that members are dating and if they were, it wouldn't make any difference to me but now this one clip has got me so damn curious and I don't know whether it's just taekookers cookin up shit again or if there really is something to it 🙏🏽

Hi anon!

Sorry for responding late... busy times!

Well, you're not wrong.. Jk did do that and it was a deliberate action imo.

Things like this end up in my pile of "huh, that's interesting!" because we have no waf knowing what was going through Jk's mind and no way of knowing what the meaning of that was to him. When I think of possible other explanations, I draw a blank. It doesn't fit the lyrics he's singing, and he does point out some places that Tae has moles and he does follow up with a V pose knowing it would be on camera. Proof? Not imo... odd... yes.

I couldn't find a clip of the whole performance. But it was PTD on October 24/25 2021 (thanks to Kayla for documenting so well @taekooktimeline).

We definitely don't make everything up anon. Maybe we interpret stuff differently from some, but the actions are their own.

[athenaholmesartistsguild]

Ugh. Finally out of my slump. I dunno what was going on, but I was struggling so hard to get a card finished!!!

Absolutely ridonculous.

But I really like the way this card came out! I struggled a bit to figure out what I wanted to pose to be. I had some alternate ideas that I liked, but I felt like they just didn't fit with the card lol.

I might end up finishing one (or both) of the concepts I had and post them here or on Patreon because they were pretty solid.

I also changed the bottom of the border. I felt like the red misty-parts in my original were waaaay too large. I'll have to modify the other cards that I've already done, but that'll take a bit of time so I'm gonna do that later :')

As always, I got my interpretations under the cut. This one's pretty interesting. I go from talking about video games to the power of restorative justice. Pretty neat~~

One of the main themes of the Strength card, I feel, is the coexistence between raw force (as demonstrated by the lion in the original Rider-Waite-Smith card) and a more quiet inner strength (demonstrated by the woman closing the lion's jaws).

In this card, we see our understanding of lions flipped on its head. Usually considered an untamable, savage beast, the lion is happy to yield to the woman. She's shown the animal a sort of patience and kindness it's not used to and as such, its putty in her hands.

But there's an air of benevolence to the woman's actions. We get the feeling that she's not looking to take advantage of the lion's eagerness to please. It's almost as if the company of the lion is enough reason to tame it.

In the woman's actions, we see a sort of bravery and confidence that isn't often depicted in pop culture. This woman has balls of steel to put her hands and face close to a lion's mouth, but she isn't looking to dominate or force the lion into submission.

So often, we see someone who's considered 'brave' resort to violence or anger and while there's not necessarily anything wrong with that if someone truly believes they're doing the right thing, the Strength card suggests that maybe the better option is to be patient and kind.

You'll never close a lion's mouth if you're trying to snap it shut. But if you have the courage, you can coax it shut over time.

Overall, pulling the Strength card is a sign that you've got way more courage and bravery than you think you do. You're tough as mother fucking nails, regardless of whether or not you show it on the outside.

Maybe with this sign, you can take that step you've been scared to take.

Reversed, the balance has been lost. While that inner strength is still within you, there's something (whether that be outside voices, your circumstances, or even your own thoughts) that's convinced you that you're weak.

Pulling a reversed Strength card suggests that you're feeling self-conscious about yourself. You feel you're missing that 'It' factor that separates you from the Confident Ones. There's likely people around you who seem to have their shit together. Who don't put up with the shit being thrown at them.

The important thing to remember is that we have no window into their minds. It's probable that these people feel the same fear that we do. After all, it's not brave to do something you don't fear.

Fear doesn't make us weak and the reversed Strength card urges us to reevaluate ourselves.

Toughness takes many forms. You're not any less brave just because you don't beat people up.

Being able to coax a lion's jaw shut, or say 'no' when you don't want to do something is just as valuable.

For this card, I wanted to focus more on the coexistence between the woman and the lion in the original.

I feel like something that's kinda glossed over in a lot of interpretations is that the lion appears happy to have the woman close his jaw. This is a mutually beneficial partnership-- the woman has a companion and the lion loves being her company.

Yellow is the primary color this card uses which implies a joyfulness to their interaction.

In regards to Kiryu and Haruka, I feel this applies really well to them.

In the first game, Kiryu's been essentially thrown to the side once he gets out of jail-- no one visited him pretty much his entire time in prison, no one was there when he got out. He's been abandoned and treated as the reason for everyone's problems.

He's forced to rebuild his life while everyone's trying to kill him.

But then he meets Haruka and those rough edges begin to soften.

Something that sticks out to me about Kiryu in the first yakuza game is that he's initially hesitant to feed a starving puppy. Kiryu's convinced that there's no reason to help it out since it's going to go hungry again. "That's just how life is."

This sounds like a really small detail, but it's a huge departure from how we understand Kiryu now. Even just a game or two later, he wouldn't even hesitate to help out.

The message that comes across to me is that everyone is capable of loving and being loved. But for some, they've been treated so poorly and have begun to believe that the world is cruel and uncaring. In those cases, it takes someone showing kindness and not just trying to shut them up and shove them to the side.

And I feel this is really important to the meaning of the Strength card.

The woman isn't taming the lion just cuz. She sees that the lion desires love and companionship and is happy to give it.

I think the card is also implying that the act of loving and caring for those deemed 'violent and unlovable' is a more universal, cosmic act than an individualistic one.

If you squint at the original card, the perspective looks kinda wonky. The woman and the lion look like they're towering over mountains and shit. At first, I thought the tarot cards as a whole just had a poor grasp on perspective, but looking back, that's not really true at all!

I think the woman and the lion in the card are supposed to be towering over everything because they're not literal representations of a woman and a lion; they're a metaphor.

We have a very unforgiving view of people who don't meet society's image of the 'upstanding citizen'. It starts in school where 'bad kids' are considered irredeemable and not worthy compassion or understanding and it extends all the way out to our treatment of the poor, or the homeless, or those in prison, or any other group that's blamed for everything wrong with the world.

It's easy to shun those we consider undesirable. Having a scapegoat to blame all of society's ills on is convenient and great for pushing agendas, but is that actually how we should be treating people?

What if instead of shunning and punishing people, we treated them with love-- taught them that the world is good and people care?

What if we showed the value in small acts of kindness? What if giving a dog a meal meant more than just the food and water you purchased?

How many good, loving people have been convinced that they're not worthy of goodness or of being loved?

Why are we okay with even one person not seeing their value and their worth?

[thethistlegirlwrites]

WIP Questionnaire

Thanks for the open tag, @verba-writing !

I'll do these for Thief of Hearts since it's my Camp Nano April WIP!

What was the first part of your wip that you created?

So, fun story, I actually came up with the base premise of this idea almost 10 years ago. My freshman year of college (2014-15, *gasp*) my roommate and I binge watched Criminal Minds, and we got through episode 3.02 and my brain apparently decided to take 'what if stealing hearts was a little more metaphorical than this but more literal than the usual meaning', wrote down a title and tagline, then forgot it for the next nine years until I found it while spring cleaning my Google drive.

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

I want to say "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri just because it's too good to pass up how specifically it works, but I also think "Things that Stop You Dreaming" by Passenger really fits the whole world of the story really well, so either of those two.

Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

For this story? Definitely Emmett and Rory. Making me choose between them would be like making me choose a favorite child. They're both delightfully flawed, morally grey, and just trying to make it in a city that kind of wants to kill them. Emmett has a knack for making the worst possible decisions without realizing that's what he's doing, Rory is ruthless and probably would have been described as heartless BEFORE Emmett actually stole her heart, and they've just generally been very fun to throw together, force to work on the same side, and watch the sparks (and occasional knife) fly.

What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

I think oddly enough this one is going to appeal to dystopia lovers as much or more than pure fantasy readers. I just read a Korean YA novel in translation, Snowglobe, that basically was an inverted version of the perpetual winter city in TOH, and really felt like that was a fairly close comparative story. Aside from that, I'm not really sure. I like a plethora of weird things that shouldn't go together so I'm not sure at all of what a shared fan base looks like. I'm always cobbling together my projects out of bizarre combinations of inspiration sources and I have zero idea where they will land or what will be a hit with anyone besides me and the few people who get to listen to me bemoan the writing process and read the chaotic early drafts.

What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

Timing of the plotline. I've been constantly changing when things happen because all the action is crammed into a 48 hour window but ironically that's turned out to be MORE time than I know what to do with given the pace the plot needs to have, so I'm finding ways to flesh things out and frustrate some of the characters' plans so that it's not all over TOO fast.

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Rory has a pet magical pigeon named Blizzard. He's been affected by the magic that floods the city of Rime, and while he's adapted to endure the extreme cold and see in the perpetual dark, he's nearly flightless because of one wing that is more or less just a warped stub. He's going to be fun to flesh out as a part of the story, and he's sort of Rory's answering service when she's out making a messenger delivery, since people can leave messages they want sent in a little pouch he wears on his back while he's on duty. It would be nearly impossible to have more than one generation of animal in the city without them mutating because of the magic, so most people don't even bother. Small animals that pose minimal risk if their descendants develop magical powers or strange features like foot-long fangs are the only regularly kept animals in Rime, and since most people can't afford to feed themselves and a pet, there's very few domesticated creatures at all.

How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

Mostly on foot, or by ship if they're leaving the city by the port. Keeping large animals in Rime would be costly and that's prohibitive for most people, and the large animals that can manage the winters are mostly the local caribou population, which have been affected by the magic much like Rory's pigeon. Someone might be able to ride them, but it also might end very badly.

What part of your wip are you working on rn?

Drafting. I've gotten the main plot points knocked out, but I'm filling in the gaps and trying to plot a daring rescue right along with my characters, so that's fun. Mostly I'm just following them around with a clipboard and pencil trying to take notes and keep up and getting whiplash from watching them argue about any and everything.

What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

I'm hoping the worldbuilding is a big draw because that's always the part of a project I go crazy with. I hope people find the idea of a magic-warded permanently winter city where daylight is basically a version of the northern lights appealing enough to be curious. My other big draw is the characters, because I personally love them very much and I hope other people do too. I do have a few fun tropes but a lot of them are skewed slightly to the side, like the kind of chaotic enemies-to-coparents arc and sharing body warmth but also half convinced the other person will kill you when you fall asleep.

What are your hopes for your wip?

Honestly, just that people get to enjoy it and fall in love with the characters the way I did. I would genuinely love to log onto Tumblr and see that someone had made fan art of them, or a moodboard, or to realize a fic category had appeared on AO3 (one of my draft beta readers @nade2308 already wrote a soft cute slice-of-life future fic after bingereading what there was of the draft to see, and I'm genuinely just floored and gleeful about that fact). I'm also sort of lurking like a gremlin ready to watch people lose it over my 'strong female character' choosing to parent a child as the culmination of her arc. Yes, Rory can kill you about ten ways but one of those is to mom you to death. And like the menace I am (and having seen the discourse on Tumblr) I am doing the evil hand rubbing waiting for the response to that one...

No pressure tagging @catwings-writes-things , @nade2308writes, @telltaleclerk, @the-one-and-only-valkyrie, @imbrisvastatio and anyone else who wants to hop on the train for this one!

Questions are:

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

[therubyreader]

My Review of Lockwood and Co. [Netflix]

See a full list of my book reviews here

*Disclaimer: there will be spoilers later on in the review*

Review Word Count, non-spoiler: 871 Review Word Count Total: 1,517

Trigger warning for the contents of this show: death, violence, creepy ghost faces, mild horror, very brief gun violence (let me know if I missed any)

I know, this isn't a book, technically. While I am usually a book/book review blog I have come with my first ever tv show review that's based on a book series so close enough. Now I know what you're saying, "Val, why don't you just read the books, it'll fit your concept" but quite frankly I don't want to. This isn't meant to be a diss towards the author, I'm sure the books are great, but it's just because the ven diagram of books I like to read and movies/shows I like to watch mostly overlaps save for a few things like ghost stories. I honestly don't know why I can't read ghost books but I can watch ghost shows and movies, for the most part because I am a wimp so it can't be too scary. But I have heard multiple people say that it's the most accurate book to screen adaptation ever so I will trust those people and we'll count this towards my book review list.

Anyways, about the show. Lockwood and Co. takes place in an alternate reality London where ghosts are real and they pose a threat to the city at large, because if you get touched by one you die. In this reality the only people who can see ghosts are gifted children, they posses some combination of either ghost sight, touch, or hearing, but usually one more so than the others, and they are able to use these gifts to track down and contain these ghosts. As they age their gifts start to fade so the entire ghost containment industry is staffed by child soldiers.

Now we get to our main character, Lucy Carlyle who is a listener, and after a ghost hunting adventure gone wrong, leading to the death of some of her friends, she leaves her small town in northern England for London hoping to create a fresh start for herself there. After unsuccessfully trying to join a prestigious London agency she manages to find Lockwood and Co. (roll credits) a ghost hunting agency run by two teenage boys, Anthony Lockwood, the one who's name is on the door, and his best friend George Karim. Lucy joins up with them and together they hunt down ghosts and solve the mysteries that take place over the course of the first two books in the series.

I do have so much to say about this show but for the sake of your eyes I'll try to keep it short, key word try. Overall I loved it, this show has a good mix of action, mystery, comedy, and even a slow burn romance (which I will get to in more detail in the spoiler part of the review). If you can stomach the aforementioned content warnings then I recommend the show to you. It honestly has something for everyone, and if you're not super into plot (which I don't know why you wouldn't be) the characters do really carry a lot of the story. Their internal battles and struggles propel the story forward just as much as the actual ghost hunting. You can see these characters really learn and grow over the course of the show, and they make mistakes and have real problems that most people can relate to. There is also a found family trope which I absolutely love, because who isn't a sucker for found family, and there's even a point where Lucy calls them her family which I thought was cute and sweet.

Something that I don't think this show gets enough credit for is the lighting. Now I'm not an expert on cinematography, I literally took one film class in college and it's been two years since that happened so I'm just winging it here, but the lighting of the show is great. I know its been a common theme for a lot of media recently to be horribly lit, like everything is super dark for no reason, but this show, despite most of the action taking place at night, was well lit, you could see what was happening. I hope the editors of the show win multiple awards for that and also the rest of the editing. The ghosts, for the most part, don't look super cheesy and weird. Sure the first one is kind of cartoony but the rest of the series has ghosts that look pretty creepy and you can understand the fear the characters feel. There are also different types of ghosts that all look different despite all being ghosts and the editors do a great job of making them all look unique and scary but also ghostly.

I am really really really hoping Netflix renews the show for a second season and beyond because it was just so good. I honestly binged it in one day and I'm rewatching it right now with my brother because I need him to experience it. It's honestly at the point where I keep checking google at least once a day to see if it's been renewed. If it isn't I'll actually cry for real. But yes, I recommend this show to quite literally everyone, please watch it, I need another season especially after the cliffhanger ending.

Spoilers Below!!!

You all know I have to talk about it: Locklyle. Listen, I am a sucker for a good slow burn but on the other hand I am extremely inpatient so I want it to happen now. According to my research (because I'm a fucking nerd) Lockwood and Lucy don't get together in the books which is upsetting, apparently it's only implied at the very end of the last book which is kind of rude tbh. It looks like the writers are playing into the fact that they like each other so I hope it becomes cannon in the show because if all that build up is for nothing I will cry.

My favorite part of the whole Locklyle thing is when on two separate occasions Lockwood was confronted with how him and Lucy look at each other by two separate people. And they're right, the way they look at each other is adorable (hey God, I know you're tired of me, but hear me out). Also the way that they would just casually hold hands? Like if you blinked you would miss it, that's just how casual and cute they were and I ate it up.

The previously mentioned research was me trying to find out what exactly the necklace that Lockwood gave Lucy was. Which, side note, was super cute and the fact that Lucy just kept it on for the rest of season if I'm remembering correctly. But, going back to the research, I was trying to figure out what the necklace actually was, like I can't make out what the shape of it is, which book readers please tell me what it's supposed to be I don't care if you spoil the plot for me. I did come across an article that mentioned the necklace but also that Lucy and Lockwood don't end up dating in the books which is why I was talking about that earlier, and I swear to everything holy the show writers better not do that to me.

On to my main dude George, aka probably my favorite character. With the exception of him being mesmerized by the mirror and making dumb choices because of it, he was a solid dude. My favorite part is definitely when they're in the graveyard and he's just talking shit about all of the kids on night watch and when one of them hears him he just tells her to "go write a poem about it" and I was losing my mind, it was so funny.

I feel like George is so underrated, every time I look into the Lockwood and Co. tag on here there are just posts about either Locklyle or Lockwood x reader fan fiction but nothing for my main dude George. This isn't to say I read the fan fics, I haven't read any since I was in my teens (once again, being old on main) but also because the characters are technically teenagers, even though the actors that portray them are my age, reading fan fic about kids as a grown adult feels icky. Also this isn't me trying to discredit any of the authors, I'm in support of you all, it's just not my thing. But can we please have more George related content, he is so good and pure, and also I have a newfound crush on Ali Hadji-Heshmati that needs to be fueled.

Honestly I could keep talking for ages about this show, and I honestly might especially since I'm rewatching it and looking to see if I can pick up on any new details that I missed, so I guess be making more posts about the show as time goes on. But if there were any scenes in the show that you want me to talk about, drop an ask, I'm down to scream and fan girl about it for the rest of forever.

Tag list: @batteredbooks @chibi-chellist

[mediaevalmusereads]

A Night to Surrender. By Tessa Dare. Avon, 2011.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Series: Spindle Cove #1

Summary: Spindle Cove is the destination of choice for certain types of well-bred young ladies: the painfully shy, young wives disenchanted with matrimony, and young girls too enchanted with the wrong men; it is a haven for those who live there.

Victor Bramwell, the new Earl of Rycliff, knows he doesn't belong here. So far as he can tell, there's nothing in this place but spinsters... and sheep. But he has no choice, he has orders to gather a militia. It's a simple mission, made complicated by the spirited, exquisite Susanna Finch—a woman who is determined to save her personal utopia from the invasion of Bram's makeshift army.

Susanna has no use for aggravating men; Bram has sworn off interfering women. The scene is set for an epic battle... but who can be named the winner when both have so much to lose?

***Full review below.***

Content Warnings: explicit sexual content, internalized ableism, medical trauma, blood, description of a physical injury

Overview: I realized I started at book 2 and read this whole series without going back to the beginning, so here we are. I very much like Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove series, as a whole, and the first installment is a good setup. While there were things here and there that didn't quite gel with me, the book was overall a solid romance novel, so it gets 4 stars from me.

Writing: The writing in this book is about what you would expect of a Dare novel. It's quick, it's humorous, and readers will have no trouble following the action. Dare also does a really good job of weaving her themes together and setting up ideas at the beginning of the novel, bringing them together once again towards the end. It made the book as a whole feel carefully planned and coherent, and for that, I think Dare deserves a lot of credit.

Plot: The non-romance plot of this book follows Victor "Bram" Bramwell, a lieutenant colonel who finds himself "promoted" to Earl of Rycliff following a wartime injury. He is tasked with running a volunteer militia to prove his fitness for war, and if he does well, he may be given back his military post. The problem is that the only major settlement on his lands is Spindle Cove - a seaside retreat for gently-bred ladies.

Susanna Finch is the daughter of a famous gunsmith, and before Bram came to town, she was the defacto figurehead. Now, with Bram and his militia threatening the peace and safety of Spindle Cove, she must figure out a way to get Bram what he wants without risking the way of life the women have built for themselves.

What I liked most about the plot was the exploration of what it meant for men to have "purpose" and why women's spaces are so threatening to the patriarchy. For a large portion of this book, Bram and his companions maintain that the Spindle Cove way of life has emasculated the men living there, but the more we read, the more clear it is that patriarchy poses a threat to all. I will admit, I wasn't wholly on board with this plot at first; there were some instances where it felt like Susanna and Spindle Cove were being asked to carve out a space for men, even though the village itself was set up as a haven for women to escape patriarchy. Over time, I came around, in part because the message was less about male and female spaces but more about making a space where everyone felt comfortable.

Characters: Susanna, our heroine, is stubborn, independent, and wonderfully spirited. It's easy to be on her side because she cares so desperately for her friends and for Spindle Cove as a whole. I found her struggle with her relationship with her father to be compelling and complicated, and her history as a healer to be moving. If I had any complaint, I would say that Susanna is a bit too easy to forgive, especially after the men come barreling into the local tea shop and almost kill someone. In my view, Susanna could have taken Bram and the others more to task for insisting on masculine spaces when doing so causes so much hurt and destruction. It would have been a good opportunity to explore questions of why women-centered spaced are important, but Susanna doesn't quite go far enough.

Bram, our hero, is fairly easy to sympathize with due to his abundance of internalized ableism and associating self worth with "action." Bram is single minded in his pursuit of returning to his old life, but his injury is such that he will never be physically the same as before. Thus, a large part of his arc involves learning to build a new life and find a new purpose, and that's something I think a lot of people can understand. I do think, however, that Dare should have leaned harder into him for his thoughts about gender. While Bram does change and does end up softening his stance, he also goes into Spindle Cove with rigid ideas about men and women. While Dare does a good job challenging this in some places, I think more of these rigid ideas could have been taken to task.

Supporting characters were fun and enriched the story. A lot of them will figure as protagonists in subsequent Spindle Cove books, so if you'd like a more in depth assessment, feel free to check out my other reviews. But suffice it to say, the secondary characters made for both a charming community at Spindle Cove, and even Bram's companions (bull headed as they are) grew on me.

Romance: The romance between Susanna and Bram was fine. I really liked the trust and intimacy that they built later in the book, and I enjoyed their battle of wills that made the two of them rivals (to lovers). Bram's hunger for physical touch was endearing, and Susanna's insistence on giving Bram what he needed (versus what he wanted) made for some compelling emotional intimacy. The only thing that wasn't quite my jam was the speed at which their lust developed. I personally find it preposterous when the hero and heroine have such raging lust for one another from the get go, and Bram and Susanna's physical attraction was a little ridiculous at first. Over time, though, their physical longing felt balanced by their emotional longing, so things got better as their relationship developed.

TL;DR: A Night to Surrender is a strong introduction to the Spindle Cove series, pitting to stubborn, headstrong protagonists against one another while also exploring the gendered expectations of "purpose." While there were things here and there that weren't to my personal taste, overall, I found the concept of Spindle Cove intriguing and I look forward to reading more Dare novels.

[skullbuilt]

La Vie en Rose 2024 - Game 1: Lunacid (Kira LLC, 2023)

What happens to dreams when the dreamer wakes?

also: if my immediate thing to say about something after finishing is a quote from the thing, it's because i thought it was a banger and don't know what else to say

Lunacid is a retro throwback style game (if you're familiar with Akuma Kira's other works like Lost in Vivo or Basilisk, this is not surprising). Specifically, Lunacid draws from FromSoft's back catalog, namely King's Field. It does some of my favorite stuff in the "hard games" genre space- hopefully people know what I mean here- by trying to talk very explicitly about how those struggles carry forward into the real world. Yes, at times it may have felt insurmountable, but you only really lose when you give up, and such is the same of all challenges.

It also carries a lot of the fun mystery of a PSX game with it. This is both in it storytelling and atmosphere style- little snippets of writing and names that you have to piece together into stories and clues on your own- as well as the mechanics. The game is absolutely rife with hidden doors and false walls, and most only lead to an item or two, but the occasional big secret weapon makes every crafting ingredient worth it. I did run into some issues with difficulty- one of the things Soulslike games do that reinforces the preserver-and-overcome theming is that they don't actually take much from you. Sure, you drop your EXP, but it's a quick load with any other cool loot you found and back into the action. True to a PSX game, when you die in Lunacid, it boots you back to load up your last save. Some of the sting is taken out once you discover a broken weapon, but this causes combat to lose a lot of its teeth too (with the exception of the final boss, who in my opinion, has far too much health).

But I love the world! I loved the atmosphere! I loved walking around and reading lore on a magic sword found in a moat! I loved opening a secret wall only to find a vhs tape?! I'm not a massive fan of fantasy, but Lunacid is the kind of gothic dark fantasy I absolutely adore, and it's going to stay with me for a long time.

Which is how it answers the question it poses: What happens to a dream after the dreamer wakes? The dreamer remembers the dream, and carries that memory into the waking world.

P.S. a quick aside i couldn't fit anywhere else: i love how lunacid handles pronouns. initially, the game didn't have any, since characters only every referred to you by player name. after the whole starfield debacle, with a certain type of player losing their mind over having to pick between 'he/him', 'she/her', or 'they/them' like some kind of lib, they were added to character creation. they start off as 'they/them' by default. scrolling one to the right is 'xe/xir'. scrolling one to the left is 'she/he'. both 'he/him' and 'she/her' are buried in the middle of the options, meaning you have to go through 'ey/em's and 'she/they's to get there. and after all that? npcs still only call you by name. masterfully done.

[grad603-breilamia]

Week 10 -

Week 10 lecture notes -

Disneys 12 principles of animation -

Squash and stretch, manipulating to be dynamic 

Anticipation - the waiting before GO, you don’t just stay still

Staging - how the object is in form, how it sits, where, staging the scene

Straight action/pose to pose - ptp keyframes, in-between frames - straight action

Follow through & overlapping action, having two different aspects going on with one asset - speed, the top is behind/slower than the bottom 

Slow in & slow out - judging speeds, dropping ball… trail

Arc - bounces, anything with the use of velocity 

Secondary action - what is the secondary thing doing to interact with the main character

Timing, allows you to case things - helps with audio

Exaggeration, giving animation the opportunity to be varied and lively, more dynamic 

Solid drawing, pertains more to 3d and has to map out the width and length of the shape so it is correct in animation

Appeal, how to make it dynamic as a whole and aesthetically pleasing 

Remember to look at blending with motion blur and zooming in and out, look at the polishing of your work. 

If doing simple credits, make the above line bigger than the below to add differentiation between the text

Feedback next week in front of peers 

Week 10 workshop notes - animation with audio 

To make things look polished, use motion blur, on layer click 3 grey circles 

Composition - composition settings - change background colour - doesn’t create an extra layer

The large timeline reflects on the time code by the bottom left corner 

Text box, write starting word, undock layer, keyframe ‘source text’ move to wanted time ’3:24, 3 seconds 24 frames,’ double click the text, don’t press delete but start writing the new word, repeat later down - this is all in time with audio. 

Can change colours and sizing etc 

To change font over the word - click on the source text layer, go where the word keyframe is and start a little after it, highlight one letter at a time and make keyframes one after the other. Highlight, change the font, and do not do any deleting. 

Option, left bracket (next to P) to cut/crop layer times

After finishing, click composition, add to render queue, ‘not yet specified,’ where you want it to go, and render.

Position, the graph icon next to the stopwatch, then the graph icon above that, you have the graph editor, which can edit speeds etc.

SCALE SCREEN TO FIT PROPERLY AGAIN: 

Reflection - 

I really struggle with getting back on track once I have messed up, with a new software, I don’t know my way around getting back to my original positioning, and this lesson ended up going down several unnecessary rabbit holes and losing my work. However even with that, once I got back on track and got the hang of what I was doing, I really enjoy animation and find it a fun challenge. Now I think I have my head around it and am liking this project.