#is this going to get me more mean anons? probably

[remxedmoon]

do you think you could explain how you do your shading/rendering :o? i'm so curious (specifically with the binary brush, if it makes any difference in how you do it)

hey hey! thankyou for the question!!! i’ll admit i’m not very good at explaining things (like. at all) but! tried my best 👍 (also super sorry anon this ask is from months ago. if i didn’t respond to your ask it’s probably just been sitting in my drafts taunting me for months)

^ this is what i do most of the time when drawing characters! generally i use rounder shapes while blocking out shadows, and you can do as many layers of this as you want! i generally don’t do highlights unless im shading darker colors (like the party’s black hair or isabeau’s sweater). i also usually shade the top half of the face! because it looks nice to me :3

^ aaaa idk how well i’m explaining this?? this is just something i Do, i didn’t really pick it up from anywhere (i mean. i didn’t pick up the hatching from anywhere either but yknow). with things like mirabelle’s hair, i do this process, but block in the highlights instead of the shadows. if you want a better example, here’s some of the rare process pics i have from a drawing i finished recently

also! going to answer an ask from. october. that’s somewhat related to this? just because i know i’ll never get to it otherwise

so i’ve genuinely been spending months trying to figure out how to answer this and the short answer is: yes absolutely you are allowed to take inspiration from my art style oh my god thank you so much and also: i can’t give tips here i’m so sorry.

i don’t really. know?? what my thought process is?? i’ve been drawing for so long that i rely more on muscle memory and what “feels right” to me. i didn’t really choose my art style, i just stumbled on it by accident. i wish you luck though, thankyou so much again!!!

(ALSO IM SO SORRY IT TOOK ME 3 MONTHS TO RESPOND TO THIS ANON)

thankyou for all the compliments, hope this helps a little!!!

[significant-narratives]

hi anon! i know this probably isn't quite what you were looking for, but i'd like to give you a couple of sports poetry recommendations. some of them are more directly about sports than others, but i think they all do a wonderful job of showing the way that sports and sports fandom can function as metaphor for and reflection of humanity, the inevitable passage of time, and the ways in which people love.

where possible, i have included direct links to the poems themselves.

Biography of LeBron as Ohio by Sean Thomas Dougherty

if you're only going to read one poem from this list, let it be this one.

the subject of this poem is NBA star lebron james, who is considered one the greatest, possibly even the greatest, basketball player of all time. this poem examines what the man behind the myth. what does it mean to be 'just a kid from akron, ohio', as james is so fond of saying? what does it mean to come from 'the middle of nowhere' and become one of the greatest stars your sports has ever seen? it's an incredibly moving, heartfelt, and oddly personal piece. and i would highly recommend that you read it out loud. just trust me on this one.

Does LeBron think of dying? Does the grape think of dying as it withers on the vine by the lake? Or does it dream of the wine it will become?

WHEN I SAY THAT LOVING ME IS KIND OF LIKE BEING A CHICAGO BULLS FAN by Hanif Abdurraqib

one of my personal favourite poems of all time, this piece uses the once dynastic chicago bulls basketball franchise to talk about what it means to fall from grace, to lose what once made you great, to feel like the best version of yourself has become a distant memory.

as a side note, i would also recommend abdurraqib's book, 'there's always this year: on basketball and ascension'.

or I will say I promise that my legs just need another season, and then I will be who you fell in love with again.

Poem for My Father by Quincy Troupe

it's a bit difficult to summarize this one.

this poem is dedicated to the poet's father, quincy t. trouppe sr, a professional baseball player during the 1930s until the 1950s. quincy jr writes about his father, the impact of colonialism on individual identity, what it means to be black in america, and the game of baseball. you can feel how much love quincy had for his father in how he writes about him and his legacy.

crucially, this poem also touches on the racism that was present in major league baseball at the time of his father's career and what it meant for his father to play in the league at the time that he did.

father, it was an honor to be there, in the dugout with you

Wide Receiver by Mark Halliday

the inherent intimacy of being teammates on the same sports team chasing the same dream. that's it that's the poem.

so come on, star boy, fling a Hail Mary with a dream-coached combination of muscle and faith

The Bee by James Dickey

sometimes your coach is your father. sometimes your father is your coach. sometimes your coach haunts you long after you leave the playing field behind. sometimes your coach is the only voice you can hear. sometimes it's the only voice you want to hear.

and also bees are there.

Long live what I badly did At Clemson and all of my clumsiest drives For the ball [...] Coach Shag Norton, Tell me as you never yet have told me To get the lead out scream whatever will get The slow-motion of middle age off me

Poem with Bleating Heart by Robert Wood Lynn

because at the end of the day, sports fandom is just a metaphor for the way that humans love. for better or worse.

once again it is fall all around us there are sports teams praying for god to smite their opponents

Hi!

This is maybe a bit left of field, but I love your blog and you seem very knowledgeable so maybe you (or one of your followers?) have an idea.

Can you recommend some reading material on sports in general? It can absolutely be hockey related but I’m talking sort of bigger scope. More specifically, how (team) sports relate to society as a whole, what role it plays for humanity, maybe it’s history? What about the fan culture?

For context, I come from a pretty academic family where growing up there was this all encompassing prejudice of “it’s for stupid people” (which is clearly stupid in itself). I guess I’m trying to break the mold, but all of it is culturally very new to me.

It can be books, articles, essays, anything.

I realise I sound like a nerd, but. Maybe?

I love this q!!! I'm going to list some of my favourites, but I also haven't read everything (or even most things) so I'll leave it open to the floor to add to. If you have recs for this anon, please reblog with additions!

Moneyball by Michael Lewis and its semi-not-really sequel Big Data Baseball by Travis Sawchik are about the analytics revolutions in baseball - Moneyball about the original one that sparked from amateur mathematician Bill James' writings, and Big Data about the inception of the Statcast era about fifteen years later.

The Game by Ken Dryden is a biography by one of the greatest goalies and minds ever to play the sport. I would recommend almost anything written by Dryden, but this is really his masterwork.

17776 is a work of fiction written by Jon Bois, but I feel like it fits within the scope of your question anyway - thematically it seeks to ask and answer why we play sports and what they mean to us. It's also written and presented online for free and you can just google it, so you don't have to hunt through your libraries or buy a copy!

The Game of Our Lives by Peter Gzowski is a rarer one, especially if you're not Canadian, but I have a personal connection so I'll always recommend it anyway. It's written about Wayne Gretzky during his initial NHL season, and examines the way we think of greatness, what makes hockey players great (on a technical as well as social level), and the ideal of a Great Hockey Player as it relates to Canadian national identity.

Along that thread, I'll finally recommend the works of sociologist Kristi Allain, who's written multiple papers on the construction of Canadian identity both within hockey and within media discussing it, and the socialization and experiences of Canadian and non-Canadian hockey players.

[jtl07]

Shenanigans prompt - avatrice as queer superheroes, one is out, the other not yet...

hey anon, apologies on the delay here - caught a bit of a cold over the weekend; hopefully this reads alright. decided to lean on a previous shenanigan where Bea is a super and Ava is The Halo...

"Uh oh, we've got a level 5 thinking face. Who do I have to go rough up?"

Beatrice blinks up at Ava, still in costume and hovering next to her on the rooftop that was completely empty just a few moments ago. Or hours, considering the deep darkness of the sky. Beatrice frowns, not used to losing track of time. Then Ava's words catch up to her. "What do you mean level 5?"

"Like yknow," Ava says, flipping onto her side in midair, as if lying on a couch. She's somehow also procured a bag of gummy bears that she offers to Beatrice. Beatrice waves it off, looks at her expectantly. "Like hurricanes and stuff. Your thinking face is intense. Sexy though, don't get me wrong -"

Beatrice rolls her eyes, ignores the brief rush of heat to her cheeks. "You're ridiculous."

"And you're running yourself more ragged than any of the fights we had this week. And I dunno about you, but this week was shit." Ava flips over onto her stomach, hovers towards Beatrice until their face to face. "Cmon. Talk to me."

Beatrice sighs. "It's dumb."

"Probably not but I'm still listening."

"It's just -" Beatrice bites at her lip "Pride is coming up." It's hard to ignore, what with all the decorations, all the excitement. It's also why she and Ava have been working so hard lately, to make sure the festivities are exactly that: festive, joyful; safe.

"Yeah! Cam said she's got my new cape with the rainbow lining ready. I'm so excited to wear it," Ava all but squeals, wiggling still in midair.

"I'm excited to see it," Beatrice says - and she's telling the truth, she is.

Ava touches down quietly. Takes Beatrice's hand. "But?"

A deep breath shudders out of Beatrice. Followed by a tremulous want: "I just wish I could do something like that too."

The words hang in the night air, held in the quiet space between them. There's so much Beatrice wishes she could do, that she could be. She can do all the super things - fly faster than the speed of sound, leap tall buildings in a single bound - but when it comes to being normal; when it comes to being simply Beatrice -

"You can, Bea." Ava wraps Beatrice's hand with both of hers, surrounding it in warmth. "But only if you want to."

"But -"

"No buts." Ava's voice is firm. "There's no duty in this. It has to be for you first." She tugs gently on Beatrice's hand and brings her in close; cradles Beatrice's head against her shoulder. "We have time, Bea. There's no rush. And when you're ready, I know a certain journalist who can write one hell of a coming out story. I should know: she wrote mine."

Beatrice laughs softly into the curve of Ava's neck. Presses a light kiss there. "Thank you, Ava." For loving me as I am.

[makeyoumine69]

helloo, can you do something like where patrick has a crush on you but your with someone else, how do you think he’ll react?

𝐀/𝐍: Hello dear anon! Thank you for your ask!💕

𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒: [MASTERLIST]🪓

Thoughts: Well, if we're talking about the canonical version of Patrick, he probably wouldn't care if you had a partner, because this man saw no obstacles on his way to the object of his obsession. It could also be that Bateman would first try to get to know you better and find useful information about your partner to play around with. This bastard would manipulate the facts and try to gaslight you, he would try to instill the idea of you breaking up with your date as if it was your own decision. But if you still didn't buy it, Patrick might eventually turn to what he was so good at—killing people he didn't like.

Drabble:

Sitting on one of the benches in Central Park, you watched Patrick walk back and forth in front of you, his hands hidden in the pockets of his dark blue coat. 

"I still don't understand one thing," the man murmured thoughtfully, glancing at the cloudy sky from time to time. "You told me your partner didn't treat you right. And I remember it so well, you can't fool me by saying that you didn't."

You rolled your eyes in annoyance. "Uh, if I only knew that you would use all my words against me... I would never tell you this," you replied, but there was no negativity in your tone, just a slight hint of nervousness. "My partner...he's a complicated person and we're having a really hard time in our relationship...but that doesn't mean I'm going to have an affair behind their back." You explained, and it made him stop pacing and focus his attention entirely on you and you alone. "Although... I do enjoy spending time with you."

Oh, that little praise of yours was like balm to his ego. Bateman grinned haughtily and gave you a devious glance. "Of course you do," his low chuckle, the way he smiled as if he already had you in his hands, only caused more anger to build up in your chest, but you managed to keep your composure. "I doubt your dear friend will ever be able to take you to the places I have... do they even know about it? About all the dinners, launches...dates we've had?"

"They weren't dates!" You retorted and quickly got to your feet to face him, and even though you tried to look confident next to him, his looming figure still made you weak in the knees. "We never kissed, we never... I never even thought about it!"

"Really?"

A broad, foxy smile still played on his smug face, and it became even more cheeky as he took a step closer to you, almost brushing your noses. The unexpected closeness hit you like a sunstroke in the middle of fall, it was abnormal and you didn't even know how to react. Patrick's lips were only a few inches away from yours, they looked so plump and kissable, but then you shook off all the little thoughts about how his lips would feel when the two of you finally kissed.

"Patrick, we can't," you turned your head to the side in protest at the last moment, and Bateman pecked your cheek instead. "Uh...listen..."

"No, you listen to me," the man cut you off and placed both hands on your shoulders, their weight feeling oddly comforting, almost euphoric. "You say you need them so much, yet you keep seeing me," his words were only a whisper as he drew near your ear, the heat of his steady breathing scorching your skin. "Something's definitely not right. Don't you think so?"

Your mind was a total mess, at some point you even felt disgusted because Patrick was right. Your current relationship had come to a standstill, and your partner wasn't really trying to fix it. Such relationships were only draining, but did you really know Bateman well? What kind of man was he? Money and wealth could make almost any person act like a master of the world, but the nature of Patrick's arrogance was different and twisted.

Tilting his head to the side, Bateman tittered and slowly, almost imperceptibly, pressed the knuckles of his hand against your cheek. "I know you have a big heart, darling," he muttered, leaning closer, his thumb tracing invisible spirals along your jawline. "And I know you even care about people like your partner, but they don't deserve it, believe me. It will do them good... if you gently tell them that it is all over. You don't want them to get bruised, right?"

Why did his words sound so... disturbing?

Ignoring the knotting feeling in your stomach, you didn't flinch and let him plant another kiss on your burning cheek, the sweet scent of his cologne wafting around you like a cobweb, binding you to him and you could swear you were literally paralyzed for a moment.

"I need... I need some time to think things over," you finally managed to say, raising your dizzy eyes to his walnut ones. "If you really...are interested in me, I hope you will understand and give me some space."

He hummed at first, but didn't remove his hand from your face; in fact, he placed another hand on the back of your neck to hold you in place. Then the man pulled you closer so that you nestled against his strong chest as he hugged you tightly.

"Well, hmmm, I guess you're right," Patrick's heart was thumping against his ribcage and you could literally feel it, somehow surprised that men like him could have hearts at all. "But don't make me wait long."

And there you fell into this man's trap.

P.S. Thank you for reading until the end! I don’t have a taglist. You can follow my writing community to know when I update!💞

[waterfire1848]

Au where instead of trying to imprison them, Azula joins Zuko and Iroh in search of avatar

Hello, anon!!

Ozai still orders Azula to go and capture her brother and uncle but Azula decides against that because her want for a family overpowers her need to follow his orders. She thinks that if she can join them and capture the Avatar then her father will allow them all to return home and they can have something like the family they did before. When she arrives, she instantly abandons the royal precession and goes to find him, saying that she wants to join them rather than fight. (Zuko: Do you think I'm stupid? Azula: Occasionally. Zuko: 😡 Azula: I only want to help, brother. Would you really reject assistance from me? Zuko: Yes! Azula: You're so paranoid. I really do just want to help you, Zuko. If we all can capture the Avatar then we can all go home. You will be able to redeem yourself and have fathers love.) Of course, Iroh isn't a fan of Azula and thinks that she's trying to trick them, but he doesn't want to say anything yet as Azula hasn't done anything to prove that she's lying to Zuko. Zuko ultimately allows Azula to join their team and the three head out to search for Aang.

During their first few days searching for the Avatar, Zuko still hasn't gotten a clear answer from Azula about why she's decided to join him in his search. All he manages to get out of her is that she was allowed to leave and didn't just run away from the palace. While they're out in the forest, trying to figure out where the Avatar is and what their next move will be, Azula makes a suggestion to stop by a nearby town for supplies. Iroh, not trusting Azula at all, believes that she's hiding something and claims that Azula is probably trying to trick them. Despite her words, Iroh and Zuko don't believe her and don't stop at the town. Later the next night, Azula drags Zuko to the town while Iroh is asleep and shows him that there's nothing wrong with it. The siblings decide to take the night to get the supplies they need (yes illegally) and then return to Iroh the next morning. Similar to canon, Zuko decides that he and Iroh no longer need to travel with one another and that he needs to set off on his own. (Azula: With me. Zuko: Azula, that's not what on my own means. Azula: Yes, but you're crazy if you think you can survive out here without me. Zuko: I don't have a choice, do I? Azula: Not at all.)

The siblings set out across the Earth Kingdom, tracking the Avatar, and as they do, they start to talk about life in the palace before Ursa left. Azula wants nothing to do with talking about her mother but Zuko keeps asking her questions about the night Azulon died and the night their mother left. It gets to a point where Azula finally screams at him that she doesn't care because Ursa never cared about her. Zuko argues against this and says that she loved them both. (Azula: No. She loved you. She loved her precious little Zuzu who could do no wrong and deserved the world. What did I ever get? Glares and whispers of 'what is wrong with that child?' Zuko: Azula, you know she never- Azula: Oh, but she did.) Zuko lets the subject drop and they get back to tracking the Avatar, eventually finding him on the run from a group of Fire Nation soldiers. (Zuko: How well can you fight in a mask and black suit?) The siblings stop the soldiers from taking them but Zuko is injured in the process of protecting Azula from a soldier's fireball. Azula gets the chance to grab Aang and run but decides to take her brother away somewhere where he can rest.

When Zuko comes to, he finds Azula making soup and looking over maps of the Earth Kingdom. He's shocked that she's helping him out but Azula tells him that he's more useful to her on his feet than lying on the ground somewhere and that next time he needs to stay more alert. She tells him that she suspects the Avatar is heading to a nearby rock quarry to train with his earthbending master and then will head through the forest next to Chameleon Bay to get to Ba Sing Se. (Zuko: Ba Sing Se? Why would he go there? Azula: It's a safe place for him to train with his earthbender and waterbender and for them to make more moves. Logically, it makes the most sense. Zuko: Then let's go-ugh! Azula: You're in no condition to go anywhere. We'll head to Ba Sing Se together once you're better. I already found a town nearby where I can steal some passports to get us into the city. Once we're inside it'll be easy to find the Avatar. Zuko:... Azula: You're thinking about uncle, aren't you? Zuko: Once we get into the city, it'll be hard to get out or send uncle a letter. What do we do if we need to find him? Azula: I wouldn't worry. Uncle Fatso has a habit of turning up. Zuko: Azula- Azula, handing him a bowl of soup: Just eat. The sooner you feel better, the sooner we can get moving.) Zuko also learns that day that Azula is not a good cook.

While Zuko and Azula are heading to Ba Sing Se, they run into Iroh once more who joins them into the city. There's still some obvious bad blood between Iroh and Azula but the two put it aside to focus on their main objective. Later, the three sneak into Ba Sing Se with their fake passports but become stuck in the lower ring and unable to get to the upper ring. The only way up there is to pay for a ticket which costs money that the two don't have. The siblings and Iroh get jobs at a local tea shop. (Azula: I still don't understand why we don't sneak up to the upper ring at night. Zuko: We'll get caught. We can't climb those walls. Azula: Then we'll hide on the train or something. There must be a better option than this. Zuko: Don't worry. Soon we'll have the Avatar and we'll all go home. Azula: Home.) When Jet gets captured, Long Feng doesn't simply ignore what he's saying and has a Dai Li agent watching the siblings and Iroh where they confirm that the three are from the Fire Nation. Long Feng decides to wait until they have an opening. Throughout this entire time, Azula has never told Zuko or Iroh that Ozai sent her to capture them because he believes them to be traitors now. When they get word that the Avatar is so close, Azula decides to tell Zuko about what her true mission was. Of course he doesn't take it well (despite Azula telling him that she could have easily captured him whenever she wanted but didn't because she really does want Zuko and Iroh, or at least Zuko, to be part of the family again) and decides to try capturing Aang all on his own which leads him to finding Appa. When Iroh leaves to confront him, a few Dai Li agents go to the house and kidnap Azula. The Gaang hear a knock on their door a few hours after Long Feng is kidnapped. (Aang: ZUKO!?! Zuko: We need your help.)

[traegorn]

I’d advise you to stop feeding the trolls. They want your reaction to their B.S. Ignore hateful asks and they’ll stop sending them. Plus responding to them aint good for you, and you have better shit to do with your time.

My friend in chaos, you must be new to my account. I have been on the internet since the 90s, and very much know what I'm doing

(Also I blocked that anon hours ago.)

I'm not "feeding" them. I'm trolling them back. What you didn't see (but I did) was their complete meltdown in a bunch of asks I didn't publish. I ruined that anon's day, and possibly more if the reports I sent get taken seriously (I mean, they probably won't knowing tumblr -- but there's always a chance).

I play with them while it's fun for me, and then I block them once they go full freak out or if I start getting bored with their insults. It's how I get the urge to fuck with people out of my system without hitting a bystander. I wait for people to try to do it to me unprovoked, and I turn it around on them.

The side effect is a whole bunch of lore about me fucking their dads, but I can live with that. 😆

[majaloveschris]

However, I don't know if leaking the contract would be bad for both of them. I think most people would be happier if this turned out to be PR rather than him being married to someone like her. And I mean her and her friends' personalities. You know the racist, pedo, and Nazi stuff. Maybe some people would be angry because he's lied, but I think most of us probably would be relieved he wasn't actually in love with someone like Alba. //

Logic anon coming in, people have to understand the fandom although it feels big is very small especially compared to the rest of the world. The general public doesn’t care about these two and many think she looks like she’s his daughter. Now, If this fandom were like the fandoms with “names” ie the Swifties, Belibers, etc This shitshow would have exploded publicly to the point the truth would have came out and there’d be no debate. The world would be aware of her and her friends and many would probably defend her, it would be team pr vs real on a bigger level. But technically something similar yet small did happen….. remember the “crazy” fan article in the beginning because the fandom was calling out the bs.

This stunt wasn’t for the fans, but I assume they thought this fandom would jump whenever Chris said to….wrong. The fandom went into detective mode so much to the point they kept having to keep up with the lies that so many called out. Remember all the holes in the cheese they tried to fill. If it were real, why the need to do that.

But yeah the point for whatever reason was to make this appear legit to the world, not this fandom. The fandom got involved because of how stupid things got. Had Chris and team learned that he had a MO that ONLY his fandom was aware of and had her and her little racist friends not trolled, things might be different.

Too much has happened for me to assume any of this is legit unless Chris has sincerely lost his mind, is going through a midlife crises or willingly thought being married might help his career/image? Idk 🤷‍♀️

In terms of said contract being leaked, that would be awesome for the fandom and possibly those who think he’s a red pill fool, but for the overall public…. I don’t think so. He’d be a liar and how could anyone trust someone who lied about being married, but again it’s Hollywood and business so who knows, it could be a shock factor, people discuss and then move on and he’s able to reinvent himself or something or people would crack jokes and never let him live it down, etc.

If a contract got leaked and had specific details it could help him and people would go omg look what Hollywood forced Chris Evans to do and I knew he’d never marry anyone that young, etc. ya know the “poor Chris”, coddling scenario he’s use to. 🙄

At most, a divorce could be announced and TMZ can state they were never legally married and leave people to question whatever. Chris moves on, focuses on his career and learns to keep his private life private and no more PR shit.

I think they thought Alba would get much more recognition and fans because of Chris. That the fandom will like her, that they will start following her and start her career. The why is beyond me, though. I wouldn't say even his real girlfriends were that liked by the public, so why would a fake one with whom they look so distant and who is a worse person than the others be? I don't think they thought this through.

I wouldn't say this wasn't for us; most of the time, a PR relationship is. A random person who's watched a few projects of yours won't start following or supporting someone's partner. A fan would. Like how many people have started following Travis since they went public with Taylor? A lot. I assume they wanted something similar to happen to Alba, but they didn't succeed. As you said, the general public cares more about the age gap and the appearance. They don't have to sell them anything because they don't care. They have to make it look legit for the fans, because they are the ones following all of their steps. They will be the ones who start following the partner or check out their works. When it comes to a PR relationship, the fans need to like the partner or accept them in the close circle. The general public just doesn't care enough to make someone's partner more famous; fans could do that. Chris's fans could've started liking Alba and watching her projects, making her more wanted in projects. That's why they wanted to sell the happy relationship; that's why they filled the holes. They need fans to do their parts, not the general public.

I still think leaking something would be the best. He's lost a lot of fans, and I'm not saying that would get him everything and everyone back, but this PR wouldn't still be better than him actually being in love with her. I think it would be. Obviously, that doesn't take away the stupidity of this whole thing and that he got involved in this. It wouldn't make everything okay, but it would make it better. General public doesn't care enough about this. They would forget about him being in a PR marriage after like a day, especially right now, when a lot of much worse things are going on. This wouldn't be the worst thing a celebrity did. Right now, they should care about fans, not about the general public. Those people who've left are the important ones. They're going to go and watch all of his movies, not the general public.

I just hope that if this is truly PR, they all learned from this and have already realized that this whole thing was a mistake and will never try something like this.

[randomfoggytiger]

Dear Tiger, I have always recommended your blog to many people who are interested in the X-Files. My recommendation goes something like this: “Brilliant analysis, well-founded opinions, without unnecessary judgments about the actors' private lives. But beware! The blog is very fond of David and can't be impartial. It's not hostile, but, even unconsciously, it minimizes Scully's importance and Gillian's talent, to the detriment of Mulder and Duchovny. Imagine the blog as if it were a proud mother talking about a beloved child, extolling (and greatly exaggerating) their qualities, and ignoring their flaws. In conclusion, if you allow for this fierce protection of David, it's one of the best - if not the best - blog about the X-Files.” When I read his analysis of the questions posed by Anon, I couldn't help but smile and remember this recommendation of mine. Duchovny is lucky to have such loyal and positive fans, who get to see the best version of him, always. An excellent 2025 to you Tiger, I'll always keep coming back and recommending your blog.🥰🥰 PS: On this particular topic, I think about 85% of your analysis is correct - but there's about 15% that I disagree with, I think it's more of a speculation/interpretation favorable to Duchovny, than exactly the reality.

I was reading this feeling all fuzzy before I got to the "impossible to be impartial" bit. XDDDD

Ah, well. Do I come across as partial? o.o Hm, I can tone down my language in future if needed-- don't mean to come across as if I hero worship (or mentally coddle) DD. His personal life isn't intertwined with mine, for one; and he's also a man who behaved selfishly, made terrible mistakes, and didn't learn gratitude until AA. He's probably still selfish because all humans are; but he's also made personal changes, has grown a lot, and continues to prove-- via his work and actions and interests and mindset-- that he isn't regressing. I give him the charitability I hand to any other person I deem 'good' and 'doing their best'. Ultimately, I just get super happy for others who are trying and are succeeding or are on the path to their own version of success. :DDDDDD

I will say, you do raise a point I've been mulling over: I don't talk about Gillian as much as I do David solely because I haven't found a blog that gives me all her work/projects/interviews/etc. up front. Though I will stipulate that I don't see the sense in taking his side over hers-- there aren't sides in their relationship to me. And I'm fond of her, too! :))))))) She did incredible work on The X-Files, and incredible work afterwards. And she powered through the 90s as a divorced, single mom with mental health struggles, which is worthy of an award. Again, I simply have less easy access to her work. I do heavily disagree that I minimize GA's importance and talent, unconsciously or not: she's part of a team; and she carried the show on her back in David's absence. That more than wins her a medal of honor. Moreover, Scully is irrefutably a woman so forward-moving and inspiring in her own right that the Scully Effect was created in her honor. (She also inspired me to take better care of my nails. Her manicures are spectacular.) You can't have the show without her.

Now that I've got my comments out of the way, thank you so, so much for dropping in to let me know your thoughts! Your words were (and are) so kind; and the knowledge that you spread my work to others, and that they might enjoy it, too, is... it's wonderful. And if you have to buffer my blog ahead of time however you need, go ahead. As long as others know what they're getting into, I suppose. XDDDD It really does mean the world. We all have days where we wonder if we're just shouting into a void; and some days the void is wider and darker than others. But knowing that you and others think my meta is worthwhile... it puts a lot into perspective. And being described how you've described me is.. thank you. So, you know what? I'll wear "loyal and positive fan" with pride, even if you punch on "Impartial"-- it's how you honestly see me; and I'm not at all offended about that. Now that I've thought about it, I'm downright amused.

Lastly, disagreement is always welcome! If you want to share, I'd be curious to know what the particulars are-- it keeps me on my toes by forcing me to double check my own opinions. >:DDDDD

I'll definitely be rereading this ask in future when the void gets bothersome. Thank you, thank you!

[egophiliac]

I have a question about the jp server pickups, since I really want knight Sebek, but I’m trying to save gems for bloom malleus + the 3rd tsum event that’s gonna show up sooner or later. Iirc, after knight Sebek, the next story update’s pickup had all of the previous story cards (ie cerberus Ortho, general Lilia, and knight Sebek). Is this true, and if it is, did it include a token system like the dorm pickups where you can just do 100 pulls and then buy the specific card you want directly? Because if that is how it works, then I can wait until then and be sure I won’t have to go to 200 for him.

we did indeed get a second chance at those three when 7-7 came out! I'm pretty sure there was not a token system -- though admittedly I don't 100% remember, sorry! 🙇 I took a quick search through some past posts/videos from people who tend to include the gacha and news stuff, but I didn't see any mention of it, so I'm inclined to think there really wasn't one. :( they were all separate pickups with their own pull counts rather than a combined one, if that info helps at all.

speaking as a strict f2p who hoards keys/gems like the lovechild of a dragon and a magpie, given the choice between saving for a story card and a birthday card, I'd go for story -- it does require a lot of patience, but there are way more opportunities to get past birthday cards, both from the anniversary events and the rerun pickups! tsums is a bit harder to say anything on because Eng doesn't follow the same event schedule, but it's a longish event and those pickups let you have a free 10-roll, so I think they're also a bit easier to save up for.

(ALSO speaking of free rolls, starting with the fifth round of birthdays -- the kutsurogi my room ones -- the birthday boy/union jacket/bloom cards have had a separate pickup that you can get two free 10-pulls at by doing missions! I got a bloom Jade from it a couple weeks ago. :D meanwhile general Lilia is the only story card I've ever managed to pull, so...I'm probably kinda biased. whoops.)

[peaches2217]

WOOOOOOOOOO

I GOT A HATEFUL MESSAGE ON ANON AND I IMMEDIATELY DELETED IT WITHOUT GIVING THEM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT

I am FLOURISHING!

[velvetwyrme]

Welcome back! I love transformers! Which continuity are you interested in? Any favorite characters in particular? Do you have any oc’s? (No pressure if you don’t I’m just curious) <3

Thank you, it's good to be back abfjdbdk! and HECK YEAH TRANSFORMERS 🤝!!!

Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to Talk About Transformers, I will take it graciously and with extreme amounts of vigour and rambling!

Under the cut because of the aforementioned vigour and rambling.

To answer your first question: I'm largely into the IDW (2005) comics, Animated, and Aligned (TFP) continuities! I've also started watching the original G1 cartoon and Cyberverse which has been really fun!! (I'm absorbing so much information. I'm also idly keeping up with the new Skybound comics, which have me yelling screaming crying etc.)

As for characters... I would say I have no favourite/s except I do also own 1 (one) Transformer and well. for something that basically turns into a brick, he gives me immense amounts of joy.

But yes, other than Soundwave, (who has charmed me in every continuity I've seen so far!!) it's a constantly rotating roster because there are SO many characters to think about (which differ from continuity to continuity!!) and I am having the time of my LIIIIFE!!!

It's so funny going from UT/UTMV to TF because UT fans have a lot of focus on Versions of Literally The Same Two Guys, whereas TF has an overabundance of options to pick and choose from (I love both!!! I just think it's very funny in comparison whfjfbek)

Anyway, I am a big fan of a lot of characters from IDW and particularly MTMTE because they're all a bunch of little FREAKS and I love them. But! If I had to pick a few from there, I'm particularly fond of (in no particular order) Drift, Whirl, First Aid, Ratchet, Swerve, Brainstorm, ALSO NAUTICA I love her dearly!!!!

I'm also a Tarn girlie at heart u_u I am not immune to "big bad dude with a mask and a sexy voice just so many problems". Also I have a special place in my heart for Spinister and Pipes rhfjfbejfbk (I love the Scavengers [similarly, a bunch of little freaks] and Pipes makes me SO SAD. WAIT- ANOTHER CHARACTER THAT MAKES ME VERY SAD: IDW SUNSTREAKER. (He was my first taste of the Horrors of the IDW comics and that STUCK with me)

Similarly, I think the Constructicons (+Prowl in IDW) and Combaticons have SUCH fascinating dynamics hjsjkhksjdfh,, combiners got me going crazy... I NEED to find out more about the other combiner teams. It's a fascinating concept.

As for other continuities... Animated has me sick over Blurr, Shockwave and Swindle, and... well, Optimus has intensely kissable lips in this series. Why did they make him like that. I'm also very fond of TFA!Starscream- he was my favorite back when I watched the series as a kid and it was very fun seeing him with fresh eyes LMAO

Fun fact: TFP was a large part of what got me to actually sit down and check out Transformers but... I actually still haven't watched the series itself (つω⊂* ) I just saw TFP!Soundwave and went "OH okay, I love him and need to find out more" which quickly expanded into me going on a deep dive into Transformers, and resurfacing about a month later having read all the IDW 2005 comics and about an equal amount of fanfic for various continuities whfjgbjrbfk,, BUT even though I haven't watched it yet- TFP already has me hooked on Knockout, Ratchet (and Soundwave ofc LMAO)

And the last answer; unfortunately I don't have any TF OCs (ᴗ_ ᴗ。)........

.........YET.

I have many Thoughts but haven't put together any designs because I want to get better at drawin mechs before I jump into making my own! Hopefully that way I have a better idea of how to put em together LMAO. That being said, I Am in fact plagued with ideas!! Like!!! I'd loooove to take a crack at trying to put together a sailplane/glider OC!

(LOOK AT THEM STUPID LONG WINGS...)

Or!! A pair of mechs, one whos an imaging satellite and the other a telescope! (Real starcrossed lovers type deal... both meant to only watch from afar, both longing to be in the other's place/by their side)

I also have a tradition of making sonas that have wings but can't fly, so I kinda want to make a TF sona with a similar concept- either just with good ol doorwings, or maybe a flier with a messed up gyro which causes problems staying upright in the air 🤔

Anyway!!! This is really long again! Oops but not oops because we all knew this would happen. Thank you again for the ask!! (and the excuse to yell about Transformers shfngbekbgm) Now I will return to my daily schedule of listening to. eurobeat and the Transformers Devastation soundtrack. Bye

[todayisafridaynight]

would it be okay if u told me why u like aoki😭/gen😭😭😭😭BEEN TRYNA LIKE HIM FOR SO LONG I JUST CANTT but i love ur art so much so i still consume it otherwise lol

i liked tohru adachi in high school and tbh i think that alone is enough of an explanation for why i ended up liking aoki

[lover-of-mine]

Different timeline anon, but I agree with the writers generally losing track or attention to detail on dates and timeframes. I also agree with the Eddie and Buck age gap discrepancy. Honestly what I suspect happened there is someone noted "Shannon was 30," and whoever had to make or give direction on the headstone didn't math correctly and forgot to subtract the 30 from 2019 instead of 2023 lol.

Imma be honest with you, I never understood the insistence that Eddie was a solid 5 years older than Buck, I remember starting to read fanfiction and everyone going with 5 years specifically and all the old man jokes and going "wait did I miss something?" because I always saw Eddie as someone who got his highschool girlfriend pregnant, so given Chris' age, he couldn't be that much older, at least in my head, even more with the way we know Eddie enlisted because Shannon got pregnant and he also talks about enlisting to avoid college applications, and while I have no idea how the us enlisting system works or college applications for that matter, I always saw that happening before he was 20 in a very vague sense, so I put Buck at 26 in under pressure and Eddie maybe at 28, if I'm pushing to the edge there. But I do agree they didn't think about the implications of Shannon's birthday on Eddie's. I don't think they thought that we would actually read that tombstone and start questioning Eddie's age. Or maybe they narratively need Eddie to be seen as younger than he has been and it's gonna come into play later. But I don't know.

[opens-up-4-nobody]

hi so so sorry if this sounds genuinely deranged but I need to know did you write a fanfiction in like 2014 that was set during ww2 where zoro from one piece was sent to a japanese internment camp and sanji went to conversion therapy I remembered it recently because it blew my mind at age 13 and I had to reread it + need a kind of where are they now with the author so if that's you 1) what's your stance on the fic today 2) how much of the research was done during writing and how much did you just know beforehand and used as inspo 3) did you have any ideas for where the other characters ended up because I did always wonder if like idk chopper overcame the trauma of being in the war and also just what usopp's situation would be in general what with the political climate. once again. if you didn't actually write this fic so sorry this must look like the ravings of a crazy person. godspeed

Hi. Uh, yeah I did write that fic. I would have been like only 17 at the time. I did do A LOT of research, like the fic was basically an excuse for me to research Japanese internment and WWII history in general bc I thought it was super fucked up. I was absolutely hyperfixated on the topic and my parents probably thought i was nuts for my ability to talk at length on this particular area of history. I just finished skim reading back through the fic and woof. What a bleak fucking story. I was very cruel to everyone. It's frustrating bc I think it's an interesting and compelling idea for a story. But to me it feels like: here is all the research I did and also characters talking in what feels like a too modern way. Plus, I was 17 and didnt understand people very well. I wish I had the energy and motivation to rewrite it. Although, I forgot I used to do song lyrics at the start of each chapter and the tonal dissonance of Owl City lyrics at the top of a chapter of harrowing events around the time of WWII is unfathomablly unhinged.

[rosicheeks]

i have been following you for a couple of years now, mostly silently. you are so beautiful, inside and out! the few times i have seen your face uncensored have made me swooon! the even fewer times i have heard you sing, my heart overfilled with such joy!

your honesty about your struggles and how you keep going are simply inspiring. thank you for sharing.

i am manifesting love and joy for you! 💕

[pyrriax]

one day i will stop being afraid of getting hounded for writing something that is less pretty and more just. raw.