#it was fun coloring the raptors tbh

[nmzuka]

Made a little sheet exploring the culture around Talon's followers.

Its a part of the world building I'm both excited and intimidated by but I want to try doing these for all the gods and their followers

[montesmithart]

May I ask for some tips on designing characters? Yours are so cool!! ✨️✨️✨️

AA thank you so much! I’m not a professional really, but as a hobbyist.. I could give you some advices that have worked well for me \o/

Tip 1: Don't be afraid to experiment and try something new! Use and mix the most chaotic colors, combine the uncombinable, and just have fun

(this is my normal process of creating designs tbh.. I just don’t think about it a lot and draw everything the way I feel xD)

Tip 2: If you’ll be practicing making designs all the time, eventually you'll start to feel and understand which colors work well together and which don't. There are also some win-win color combos that always look good - for example, plain black/white with golden parts, or tropical colors (blue & orange & yellow & red & green), or brown palettes with rainbow shades, or black & white & grey & red, etc. I personally found my comfort in rainbow accents, gradients and vibrant colors 💛

Tip 3: Mix different themes! I really enjoy designing reptilian characters and mix them with absolutely any themes I could find :D For example:

plush & cactus & raptor

dinosaur & kidcore aesthetic

peacock & dragon & snake & constellations

raptor & bat & cow and… wooden raptor?😳

…and so on!

Find your own comfort species & themes and mix them with everything you want ^^

Tip 4: If you got no ideas yet, but still wanna design something, I highly recommend using Pinterest for inspiration! It contains a lot of great images/photos which can bring you tons of ideas (not only for characters designs, by the way). I also use it for clothes tutorials, poses references, and lightning/shading guides sometimes!

Tip 5: To improve your visual library, look at others’ characters and adoptables. Analyze what exactly you like about these designs - it can be some special color palette or other unusual choices. This will not only give you an understanding of which palettes and design elements go well together, but also allow you to discover your own favorite elements/details you can use in your own work!

That’s it! There's probably something else I forgot to say, but for now.. that's all my sleepy brain could remember at the moment <D

[honeyxmonkey]

Sorry, here are the numbers/questions for the question I asked last night.

1. Are they happy with their body?

2. Do they have any secret piercings or tattoos?

3. Do they collect anything?

4. What is their favorite music genre?

5. What music genre, if any, do they hate the most?

6. What is their phone background/lock screen?

7. What is their shoe size?

8. Do they have a favorite fabric or texture?

9. Do they have a favorite professional sport?

10. How do they decorate their living space?

11. Are they messy, or do they clean up?

12. What’s their preferred sleeping position?

13. Did they have a favorite comfort item as a child?

14. Do they have a favorite period in history?

16. What food do they hate eating?

17. Do they have any allergies?

18. What was their worst injury?

19. What movie is most likely to make them cry?

20. What movie or book could they watch/read a hundred times and never get tired of?

21. Can they dance? Do they like to?

22. What was their favorite birthday gift?

23. Which birthday do they look back on the most fondly?

24. What kind of cake or birthday treat would they prefer?

25. What is their favorite animal?

27. What smell do they hate the most?

28. What sound do they hate the most?

29. What video game would appeal to them the best?

30. How would they relax on a day off/rainy day?

31. Are they combative? What is their fighting style?

32. Would they be the one to start an argument?

33. What is their personal style? Favorite outfit?

34. Do they have a dream job?

35. What do they do if they can’t fall asleep?

37. Do they prefer to be really cold or really warm?

38. What recurring dream do they keep having?

42. If they have siblings, do they like any of them? Would they rather be an only child?

43. What do they think is their worst quality? What is their actual worst quality?

44. Do they lie often? Are they good at it?

45. Are they good at keeping secrets?

46. How do others see them? How accurate is it to how they really are?

47. What kind of first impression do they usually make?

48. What are they most afraid of? 49. Would they ever kill anybody?

OH WOW

Hello, my friend, you have BOMBARDED me with these asks, I love it :]

For Sarah and Harley:

Yes, I'd say so. They're pretty young, so they haven't gone through that oh-so traumatic "everything about me is weird and awkward" phase of youth yet. Though, Harley has some self-consciousness of a few of the scars he gets on the SW quest

As of now? No, but Harley gets into punk rock and Sarah is super ride or die for basically any bad idea he has, so when they're 17 they get tattoos without telling anyone. Both their parents are livid about it

Sarah collects cool rocks and Harley collects dinosaurs :]

As said previously, Harley gets into punk rock, and Sarah has One music aesthetic and its the Crane Wives

Oh god, ummmmmm, neither of them particularly hate any music genre. Except for a few country songs that they only make fun of to annoy Steve, who does like Country, for some reason he won't ever explain

Sarah's phone background is a really blurry picture of her dog playing tug-of-war with one of Harley's raptors, and his is also a really blurry picture of the same thing but taken from a different angle

I've never thought about it, I don't really know tbh

Bubble. Wrap.

It's not professional by any means, at least, not in the mortal world--but they both get really competitive about Pyrobligst

Harley puts up tacky and overly colorful posters that don't even make sense because of how little color he grew up with. Sarah is a string lights kinda gal

They're 13 yr olds, of course they're messy

Harley: amidst a pile of raptors. Sarah: hogging all the blankets, she's the worst at sleepovers

They're both still children to me, so I'd say probably little trinkets their parents gave them when they're away from home for demigod business

Sarah is all about the Renaissance, though no one can figure out why. Harley is partial to the 1700s, mostly because a certain immortal pirate captain works for his father and likes to tell him stories of his time on the high seas

Harley can't cook and should never be trusted near a stove. Sarah is only a little bit better, but they're both chaotic and think they can bend the laws of physics to make cooking time go faster. Jim doesn't let them in the kitchen anymore

They both hate seafood. They don't like the texture, they don't like the taste. No I'm not projecting

No allergies per se, though they both get hit with seasonal stuff every spring and it kills their sinuses

Ooohhhhh, uh I will disincline to answer this because Spoilers

Any Pixar movie.

Harley will never, ever get tired of Alice in Wonderland. He relates to her way too much. Sarah doesn't read often because her dyslexia is worse than average for a demigod, but her favorite movie of all time is A Bug's Life

They both love to dance. Sarah is good at it, Harley's skill is better left unsaid, lol

Sarah's was definitely when Carter gifted her one of his knives. Very appropriate for a prepubescent girl, I know. Harley's was when Jim conscripted Leo and Nico's help to make him the infamous Raptor Resonating Chamber whistle he uses to properly communicate with his raptors

Sarah can't actually pick one because her life was pretty normal up until she met Carter. And Harley's will be the one on the island. For as sad as the situation is, they all do their best to make it fun

Chocolate all day every day

Sarah's is any pigeon ever. She found out about their past as domesticated animals and had Big Feelings about it. Harley's is the bat-eared fox. He aspires to pet one someday.

I will cut it there, and then reblog this post later, cause I don't want it to get too long all at once! Thanks for the asks!

[staravya]

you know it's kinda funny

for the amount of "the hpsc forces hawks to suppress his animal traits" fics out there....... hawks' quirk actually isn't an animal morph. like his hero name his hawks but his quirk is fierce wings. not to mention his wings aren't even like. real, proper wings of any animal, never mind a hawk! im not talking about the color or the size or whatever i'm talking about the utter lack of bone structure. those wings are just feathers telekinetically glued together because hawks' quirk isn't an animal morph, it's the bnha-classic extremely specific telekinesis, in which case his power is strictly tied to the feathers he grows from his back. he's not like tsuyu or selkie or gang orca, he's more like best fucking jeanist (if jeanist could only move the denim he grows from his body. hm. don't like that. cursed thoughts.) or that one 1-b student who can split herself into a bunch of small pieces. WE SEE HIS WINGS DON'T HAVE THE NEEDED BONES! maybe one or two in that stump at the very base but it's so fucking small and not the proper bone structure needed to actually move those feathers. and i know the weirdness of his flight in the anime is probably bc they dont wanna go through the work of properly animating shit but it makes much more sense that he never bothered to learn how to fly like real birds, he just fucking lifts himself up with his feathers. all of which is to say that every raptor stress grip / filed talons / surgically altered claws / pulled tailfeathers trope that i see in his fics already cues that world into an au for me tbh. which is fine it's just a thought that struck me while i was watching hawks flap those tiny stumpy wings.

the interesting part to me is that you could actually write this perspective in the opposite direction, in that the hpsc has branded hawks based on an animal-esque quirk so as to reap all the positive associations of "ooh, hawk! bird! cool!" with easy branding and positive associations without having to, you know, employ an actual heteromorphic quirk hero and deal with the discrimination that those quirks face. they can make him appeal to that side of the,,,, "market" (:nausea:) without actually putting any work in. idk i just think this could be a fun reversal.

[ravioliet]

@magical-dying-human replying in a reblog but okie!!!! :3

Olive's is an olive flycatcher because of her name of course, but my fun fact is that she was the one who started the whole thing because i remembered that they share a name and wanted to do something with it and now here we are!

Otto's bird is a cockatiel because they're very silly and friendly little guys and it felt fitting. he is also one of three parrots with the other two being Todd and Noisemaker which i think is silly

Oscar is a woodpecker finch because they're a species of bird that is known to make tools out of sticks! which i thought was cool because gadgets and stuff

Ms. O is a kookaburra because they can be VERY loud when they want to be

Olympia is an anna's hummingbird because hummingbird felt very fitting for her since they're colorful and energetic and shiny and stuff, she's specifically an anna's hummingbird because of her actress's name being Anna and also because they have a bright pink face and throat marking (which is called a gorget btw) and pink is kind of an Olympia color to me

Otis is a wood duck because. ducks. but the reason why wood duck in particular is because aren't really immediately recognizable as a traditional duck especially just by the wings. wood ducks are very colorful btw they're cool, but also this creates a contrast between him and the ducks he used to live with since they're white domestic ducks. also bonus fun fact his blue and brown feathers match with Ms. O and he has some iridescent green feathers that match with Olympia :)

Oona is a crow because they're also very silly animals actually, but on top of that they're also quite smart and also build and use tools!

Ocean is a puffin because they're a seabird and like. ocean. you get the joke here. also i just like them

Orchid is a secretary bird because they remind me of raptor dinosaurs!

Octavia is an american robin because they're cheerful little guys and it felt fitting for her

Oz is a potoo because they're crazy good at camouflage actually it's pretty cool

ok so minor disclaimer actually i haven't watched OSMU. i do think Orla is cool though and her being a ptarmigan was a discord suggestion actually! fun fact though they change color with the seasons from specked brown in the summer to solid white in the winter and a mixture of the two during spring and fall!

i don't think i need to explain Dr. O tbh, she and Olympia are in the hummingbird club together though. Oksana is also pretty self-explanatory

Obfusco is a flamingo because if i remember correctly he has a line that mentions them at some point? and also they're just kind of weird and funky birds honestly

Ohlm is a pigeon because everyone thinks they're stupid but studies have shown they're actually quite smart! fun fact they're better at multitasking than humans are. also because of Alan the singing pigeon from that one episode

Todd's bird assignment is one of my favorites actually because i think it fits him perfectly but kea parrots are colorful, very smart but also mischievous, and known to cause problems and chaos (such as stealing and destroying things etc) just for fun, and they're also very difficult to keep in captivity because if they don't have enough enrichment they'll get bored and start causing problems on purpose to entertain themselves which in the context of odd squad definitely sounds familiar

Jamie Jam is a strawberry finch because i thought it would be funny. strawberry jam if you will

Noisemaker is a cockatoo because they're very noisy birds that can mimic sounds! i think he can imitate musical instrument noises probably

and lastly Mister Lightning is a lightning bird because of the name and also because the real life ones look really goofy

might as well post this separately too but here's my whole list of bird assignments for the wings au! some of the reasons are more literal than others but they all have them, might elaborate on some of them later in a reblog or something because i really like talking about them :)

also i am taking suggestions for any characters who aren't on this list because i forget about a lot of them and also i really like picking out cool birds for them

[shakespeareanwannabe]

50 Questions Tag

thank you @rae-rae-patcha for the tag! This was pretty fun!

I’ll tag (no pressure) @writefightandflightclub @tintinwrites @darksideofclarke I have no clue if you guys have already done this so my bad if you have!

1.) What color is your hairbrush?

Silver

2.) Name a food you never eat

Onions. I know it’s weird, but the texture makes me gag. 

3.) Are you usually too warm or too cold?

Usually, I’m pretty comfortable but if my feet get too warm at night, I can’t sleep, so I 

4.) What were you doing 45 minutes ago?

Watching the Oscar Issac and Pedro Pascal Wired Auto Complete Interview    😅

5.) What’s your favorite candy bar?

Coffee Crisp

6.) Have you ever been to a professional sports game?

I’ve been to a couple of Blue Jays games and one Raptors game

7.) What’s the last thing you said out loud?

“I’m going upstairs” lol

8.) What’s your favorite ice cream?

I’m lactose intolerant, which sucks, but the dairy free Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia is so good!

9.) What was the last thing you had to drink?

Lemon green tea with FloSupps Green Powder mixed into it

10.) Do you like your wallet?

I loved my old wallet. It had vintage Mickey and Minnie on it. My new one is black leather. It gets the job done but is less magical. 

11.) What’s the last thing you ate?

Popcorn

12.) Did you buy any new clothes last weekend?

Nope

13.) What’s the last sporting event you watched?

In all honesty, it was probably the Raptor’s winning the NBA championship last year.

14.) What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?

Either movie theatre butter or white cheddar.

15.) Who’s the last person you sent a text to?

My mom

16.) Ever go camping?

Nope

17.) Do you take vitamins?

Yep

18.) Do you go to church every Sunday?

Nope

19.) Do you have a tan?

I’m so pale I’m almost see through and when I burn, I go bright red then back to pale. tl,dr: no

20.) Do you prefer Chinese or pizza?

How dare you? Both. The answer will always be both. 

21.) Do you drink soda through a straw?

Sometimes

22.) What color socks do you usually wear?

Black

23.) Do you ever drive above the speed limit?

All the time 😂

24.) What terrifies you?

Spiders *shudders*

25.) Look to your left, what to you see?

A Nocking Point coaster

26.) What chore do you hate the most?

Cleaning bathrooms

27.) What do you think when you hear an Australian accent?

Two Aussie guys I met in London who outdrank every person in our tour group, every night. 

28.) What’s your favorite soda?

Ginger Ale

29.) Do you go in fast food or in the drive through?

Drive thru McNuggets once a year

30.) What’s your favorite number?

17

31.) Who’s the last person you talked to?

My dad

32.) Favorite cut of beef?

Prime rib? Is that a cut of beef?

33.) Last song you listened to?

In Love with You by Zachary Levi from First Date The Musical

34.) Last book you read?

After the War is Over by Jennifer Robson

35.) Can you say the alphabet backwards?

Nope

36.) Favorite day of the week?

Friday

37.) How do you like your coffee?

Either with two sugars or half coffee/half hot chocolate

38.) Favorite pair of shoes?

My old brown knee high boots. RIP

39.) Time you normally wake up?

9

40.) Sunrise or sunsets?

Sunsets

41.) How many blankets on your bed?

Five

42.) Describe your kitchen plates?

Round and white

43.) Describe your kitchen at the moment?

Sparkling clean because I just finished cleaning it

44.) Do you have a favorite alcoholic drink?

Anything with vodka or rum tbh

45.) Do you play cards?

Yes

46.) What color is your car?

Black and rusty lol

47.) Can you change a tire?

Nope

48.) Your favorite state, province, country, etc.?

Loved London when I got to visit there a few years ago ❤️

49.) Favorite job you’ve had?

Being a copywriter for an online catalog. I got to sit in a room, by myself, with my music on. Nobody bothered me, nobody knew I was there, and my boss was super cool.

50.) How did you get your biggest scar?

My biggest scar is pretty small. It’s about an inch long on my lower belly where I accidentally fell asleep with the heating pad on high. It burned me, the burn turned into a blister, and when the blister popped, it turned into a scar.

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam France season 3, episode 6 reaction

I have a Jerome theory and I’m sticking to it

Episode 6

Clip 1 - Lucas gets his turn in the hoodie of despair

Lucas is at school Monday. We get a shot of his bandaged hand that’s a parallel to the trailer for the season, where we also start with a shot of Eliott’s hand. In both situations, Lucas/Eliott is about to walk into the school in a tense, uncertain situation, Eliott facing a new school and new people after his episode at his old one, Lucas facing his old school and old friends after alienating or angering the people he cares about.

Also, the bandaged hand is representative of his emotional ~wounds but that’s ... really obvious, I feel silly saying it.

The angsty piano music, a hallmark of this season, plays as Lucas crosses the yard. The boy squad laughs at him, and if that wasn’t obviously fake, then Raptor Alex miming a blowjob at him while standing with Eliott should be a dead giveaway, because like hell Eliott would tolerate homophobic bullying of Lucas, no matter their relationship status. (Though it’s kinda amusing to think about this scene as an Alex/Eliott AU where Alex is bragging about his BJ game and Eliott is smirking like “damn right.”)

Daphne comes up and kisses him on the cheeks. She’s so effusive and affectionate that at first I thought she already knew Lucas was gay and was trying to jump to the front of the queue to make him her gay BFF. It’s not that, though. She touches his arm and is like HOW BUFF which is hilarious because Lucas is, how do you say, wispy. No offense at all, but I would never be like yeah, that guy looks like he works out. Lucas doesn’t seem to buy it either. Of course Daphne wants him to help move a couch, lmao. Protect the five vulnerable girls going to pick up the secondhand sofa from a potentially shady dealer? I guess Daphne got over her fear that Lucas would be taking over as head of the common room once she realized he was another pair of arms to carry that couch.

Of course when Lucas looks over, it’s not the boy squad, but some random dudes. Not Alex and Eliott but some random dudes. Not Maria and Chloe, but some random girls. All of them seemingly minding their own business and not caring about Lucas one way or another. This puts a different focus on the scene than with Isak, because with Isak he actually was walking into the lion’s den. He saw Emma and Even in the courtyard and psyched himself up to walk between them with his Nas song playing in his ears to psych himself up. Isak was miserable, but in a way it felt like an act of courage; he saw his worst fears on both sides of him, literally, and pushed himself forward. With Lucas, I’m not saying he isn’t brave, but with all those people turning out to not really be there and not really laughing and talking about him, the emphasis is more on his paranoia and fear. It’s a much drearier take on a scene that was already depressing (and I feel like the lighting/coloring reinforces that, too, but err, that’s Skam France’s usual aesthetic so I’m not sure how intentional that was.)

Clip 2 - Yann the voice of reason

Gym class, not for Lucas, but for Chloe. After class ends, Lucas comes into the gym and wants to talk to her. Chloe is not having it. Lucas tries to say she said on Friday is nonsense. He’s not a (homophobic slur) and he asks her not to spread it around. Ohhh boy, this is. Uncomfortable. Completely understandable that he doesn’t want the rumors to get out, and I get why he’d say he wasn’t really gay in order to protect himself, but him using a slur? That’s really sad. That makes this not just a strategic move or an attempt to handle the situation before it gets worse, but something self-hating. There was no reason for him to use homophobic language except to distance himself from being gay, like in episode 3, the advice he took to keep people from guessing. 

She’s pissed that he didn’t even come to apologize or talk, just to ask her not to spread it around, so you know she’s not really listening and making this about her own feelings. And look, we can say over and over again that Chloe has a right to be mad, and of course she does. But she also just doesn’t get the seriousness of outing someone. Lucas is begging her not to spread the rumor, very upset, but Chloe says he can’t tell her what to do. Man, so they made Chloe even worse than Emma, despite having Lucas treat Chloe worse than Isak did with Emma. Isak didn’t plead with Emma to not out him while Emma was like, “Whatevs, I do what I want.”

Lucas is clearly unraveling. He bursts out of the gym and runs into Yann. Lucas tries to use his family as an excuse again and Yann cuts him off, saying not to play him. He knows whatever’s happening with Lucas is more than just his parents. Yann is a lot more blunt about it than Jonas; Jonas knew that Isak was bluffing but let it slide without calling him on it. He’s also more blunt about Lucas refusing to talk about his problems. The guys all just want Lucas to get better, and are here to talk to him, but if he doesn’t want to do that, then he needs to fix his problems and come back when he’s better. Completely fair, tbh. I can see how the more straightforward approach works with Lucas; Isak felt more defeated at this stage, like he barely had energy to get through the day let alone put up his usual act, so chill Jonas could get through to him, whereas Lucas is like brimming with anger and fear and seems more defensive, so he needed Yann to just cut through his bullshit directly.

Clip 3 - Pasta is Deep

I feel like a recurring issue with Skam France is that it skips establishing the mood of a clip, often just jumping into whatever needs to happen without a lot of grace, which probably has a lot to do with their time limitations (although this episode is several minutes shorter than average so...) This scene isn’t one that I expected them to recreate so closely, with Isak just ordering a sandwich for like a minute and a half, but it did remind me of how that completely mundane action was so much more than the damn cheese sandwich, because it was about putting us directly into Isak’s headspace and letting us feel how blank and distracted he was, and then what a jolt it was when Even appeared - exactly what Isak must have felt. I think Skam France could benefit from being more careful with staging moments like that, more showing, less telling. Like there’s nothing wrong with the start of this clip but it skips establishing Lucas’ mood entirely, and Eliott comes around the corner so we the audience see him before Lucas does, so there isn’t as much of a reaction.

Anyway, the important observation: Eliott cut that girl in line, what a dick.

There are two plates of pasta on the counter before them, and Eliott says if he were Lucas he’d take both of them. Lucas says sometimes you have to choose. I get that this is ~symbolic and it’s about Eliott trying to have it both ways and Lucas not having that but it’s one of those moments that takes me out because ... why would Eliott say Lucas should take both huge-ass plates of pasta ... except so Lucas can be metaphorical in response ... is that normal? It feels like a very writerly setup to be Deep so the dialogue can have a double meaning, except it doesn’t actually make sense on the first/surface meaning, if you get what I mean. Or else Eliott thinks Lucas is capable of eating two plates of pasta. 

Eliott tries to make conversation but Lucas just grabs a plate and storms off. That was some good timing with the angry plate grab. Eliott looks sad and the angsty piano music starts again.

Lucas walks into the cafeteria and sees the table with the boy squad and the table with Chloe and Maria, while Eliott is walking behind him. This time Chloe is looking at him for real. Lucas just leaves his tray without eating and walks off as Eliott notices. 

It was kind of odd that they needed both moments of Eliott reacting to Lucas’ distress, like ... we got it the first time when they were in line, we didn’t really need the second time to tell us the same thing we just saw thirty seconds ago. Was that supposed to be Eliott noticing Lucas didn’t want to sit with his friends so it wasn’t just him causing Lucas stress? IDK. Even if that were the case, it felt redundant. (Sometimes with this show I want to be like “have confidence that the audience will understand!”)

Clip 4 - Someone’s gonna catch a disease or a demon from that sofa

The girls and Lucas walk to a secondhand store. The store is like where they keep the props for The Conjuring movies. For some reason this thrift shop has multiple dolls that are missing body parts just hanging out, which is objectively the creepiest thing you could encounter. There are also jars of yellow ... something. I’m not gonna say it’s definitely pee, but it could be pee.

Daphne is once again the MVP of the show for how she screams and runs away when she gets freaked out. She’s so entertaining. 

A dude shows up and the scene dramatically cuts to black with the sound of a sharp blade, as if in a slasher movie, but of course then we cut to this guy pouring tea for everyone. Total tangent but you know, a horror series could be pretty fun if it followed the real-time format of Skam. They played with the concept in the cabin episode, as a parody of course, but I would love to see more genre series in this mode of story-telling. A really well-written suspense or horror story could be so effective in real time!

Also, the guy looks like the school psychologist from Skam Italia. And the gym teacher from Skam Italia. Or maybe I just think all older men with beards look alike.

It was the guy’s brother’s shop. He was a compulsive hoarder, which is not a surprise in the slightest. The brother died recently. “Of what?” “I don’t know, I haven’t found him yet.” Lmao, this is a funny scene. They guy is joking and says his brother had cancer, but let’s be real, that’s also a lie. The guy was obviously murdered by those dolls.

The gang gets some additional goodies from their visit. So Lucas has to carry the couch back with Manon and Daphne, Imane and Alex carry the football table, and Emma trails behind with her lava lamp. LMAO. It’s a great image. (I have no idea if Daphne was actually carrying the couch at all, or if she was just supervising. I think Lucas and Manon were doing the heavy lifting, literally.)

They take a break and Lucas rubs his injured hand. Lucas, get help for that! Go to the doctor! I’m sure she has some eccentric yet helpful life advice in addition to her medical expertise.

Daphne comes up to him and asks whether he’s heard from Basile since Friday. NO GOD WHY.

Lucas smiles and says a bit, why? Daphne is like… just for news. The girls tease her by saying she’s actually into him, Daphne says no, he’s so annoying. WHY GOD. WHY MUST WE GO HERE. It’s so aggravating that the best character on this show is going to be paired off with the worst character on the show (and one of the worst characters in the entire Skam universe). 

The girls talk about how much their men suck. Daphne says guys are worst than girls. LESBIAN. DAPHNE. PLEASE. I’m begging you. 

Daphne says no offense to Lucas, and Imane says he’s not a real guy. Whoa! Hold on a moment there. Lucas’ expression is all WTF, Imane tells him to take a joke. This is one of those casual comments that can cut deep; Imane doesn’t know Lucas is gay at this point, so it’s not quite her assuming that gay guys are honorary girls or something like that. But one of Lucas’ fears is how being gay will separate him from his male friends, and at this very moment he is separated from them. So this is not a reassuring thing to hear. Calling someone a “real guy” can sting for someone who’s struggling to find out just where they fit in with the guys, and now hears that they don’t really belong there. Interesting that they made Imane throw out this comment since it’s more careless than we often hear from her. Not that she’s perfect or anything, just that we more often hear remarks like this from someone like Daphne. But it goes to show that everyone’s capable of these microaggressions.

Daphne says Lucas is so lucky, girls are so much simpler (I guess she means with dating). Irony! Lucas does not say L M A O in response. How lucky can he be when a raccoon man broke his heart? Manon says that’s inaccurate and not true. Daphne thinks it’s easy for Manon to say that when she’s dating the perfect guy. Irony! Manon hops off that couch and says it’s time to go again. I wonder how long they’re going to string along the hints that all is not well with Marles. Noora came back and immediately told everyone that she and William had relationship issues, but Manon is hiding the truth. 

I thought this clip was a lot of fun but it’s one that doesn’t really fit with the mood or atmosphere that Lucas is going through right now. I saw people defending it as like a break from the misery and tension, and I couldn’t help but be like ... no! That’s not a good thing! I get that Lucas doesn’t need the same emotional journey as Isak, but speaking as someone who watched Skam S3, episode 6 in real time, the constant pain was a good thing. Sure, it was draining. Sure, it was stressful. But it got you into Isak’s head. It made you feel what he was suffering. It captured his isolation and loneliness. It made the final clip of the week with Jonas such a huge relief (and to be fair, they sure took a different tone with Yann...) Narratively, it was expertly crafted and paced. With scenes like this, it does chip away at some of the tension. I wouldn’t say it’s pointless (and again, on its own there were a lot of funny moments) but again I wish Skam France was better at establishing and holding a mood. Because there are ways they could have shot this scene with similar content, but with more of a consistent emphasis on Lucas’ POV, filtering through his lens. Focus on his detachment, have something in the shop remind him of Eliott, etc. The dead guy’s brother talks about how isolated and lonely the brother was and how he didn’t open up to anyone. Something like that. Except for a few brief moments like the shot of his hand or the response to Imane’s comment, the scene doesn’t have much to do with him, really, and this is a very crucial time in the story to be making us feel what Lucas feels.

There’s also that I feel like a girl squad scene is like a requirement of each episode, and listen, I enjoy them as much as anyone, but I also think that these scenes can feel like they don’t fit with the narrative as a whole. Both the cake clip and now this clip had little to do with Lucas’ POV (compared to something like the Kinsey Scale discussion which was relevant to him). There are some bits contributing to other subplots, like a hint at the end about Manon and Charles, which is probably meant to lead into the next clip where Manon cries, but tbh they’ve dropped quite a few hints about her not being OK by now so IDK this particular one was necessary? And to be fair, other seasons of Skam spread their focus beyond the POV character. But part of why Isak’s season is so good, IMO, is that every single clip contributes to the main story. It’s very tightly written. I guess I can’t help but wish that every clip had a clear tie to Lucas’ character arc even if there are other subplots happening, and not just that other storylines are taking place and Lucas happened to be there. 

Clip 5 - Not talking is good

Lucas is up at almost 2:00 watching TV. A late night clip, wow! Glad to see one of these. It’s something that does establish mood and get us into Lucas’ mindset. Timing is one of the most useful tools the Skam format has, compared to traditional TV series.

Manon comes in and he asks if he woke her. She sits next to him and climbs under the blanket. Manon is clearly distressed. Lucas notices she has tears in her eyes. She seems on the brink of saying something, but he suggests they don’t talk about it. He puts an arm around her and she leans into him as the piano music starts again. We’re getting a hell of a lot of that this episode. She cries, he starts to get teary as well.

Lucas and Manon have the most familial relationship in the flat. In Skam it was Isak and Eskild, here it’s definitely Lucas and Manon. They feel like each other’s family. I do really like this scene for showing their bond and demonstrating that they’re both going through something they can’t talk about, it’s really lovely. Neither of them can say what’s troubling out loud. Manon has been needling Lucas to talk to her about his problems, but Lucas doesn’t pressure Manon to talk about what’s making her cry. There’s probably a balance they need to achieve to get to the emotionally healthiest place.

One effect of moments like this is that the Lucas/Manon relationship feels so much more developed than some of Lucas’ other relationships, like they can cry with each other and show emotional vulnerability with each other in a way that Lucas can’t with other people. Like I was rooting for Lucas and Yann’s friendship, and there is a ton to be said about Lucas being accepted by his best friend and what that means in terms of depicting supportive male friendships, but I also completely get why people thought he should come out to Manon instead, because story-wise, this relationship feels different from others. Lucas does feel comfortable with her, even if they’re not talking about their problems, and making the progression to voicing their problems to each other seems like a logical progression. 

Clip 6 - Find your Jerome

Lucas has gone to the school doctor from the first season, who tries to guess his name. The final one she guesses is Isak, lmao. Awww. I’m going to be a total sap and say that my heart got all mushy and emotional hearing that name. I miss my boy! I need Julie Andem to deliver that reunion special ASAP. But I do like Skam France’s nods to the original show, they’re not that subtle but they’re sweet gestures.

Lucas says he has trouble sleeping. To their credit, they did show him and Manon up late at night this week, so it doesn’t come totally out of nowhere. I do think perhaps they missed a chance for him to go to the doctor because of his hand. And maybe lie to her about how it happened, but she kinda guesses he punched something and gives him a little speech about not bottling up emotions and taking out his anger by punching stuff? IDK. I think that would’ve fit Lucas’ characterization and his particular struggles, but this is fine.

I love how satisfied the doctor seems when she tells him to avoid blue light. Nailed it!

I feel like this scene could’ve been built up a a bit clearer, because Lucas is all, “IDK why I can’t sleep” and that seems a little ridiculous, like obviously he knows why he can’t sleep all of a sudden. If he didn’t, he’d be like, “Oh, blue light is the problem? That settles that.” He’s got big personal problems. It’s just that he’s not going to tell this doctor what they are. With Isak, he had a clear motive for going to the doctor - there was a text where Linn mentioned her sleeping pills and Isak came in asking for some of those, except the doc gave him some advice to talk to people instead. Like I’m not sure what Lucas wanted from going in here? Because he knows he’s thinking too much at night, but he doesn’t want to tell the doctor the specifics. So I’m not sure what he was hoping for by going here since I’m sure he wasn’t planning on using this appointment as a therapy session. I guess he could’ve been intending to ask for some sleeping pills or something else to help him sleep, but never got around to it because the doctor started to talk about her lover and thoughts of murder. Just a small observation. 

The nurse starts telling him about how she also has problems talking about herself due to shyness or modesty (lol, this doctor being shy or modest). But she can talk to Jerome, the man she’s apparently cheating on her spouse with? Or engaging in some mutually agreed polyamorous arrangement, looking at it in a more positive light. (Or Jerome is a mannequin. Somehow that seems like the most plausible option.)

She mentions that her days are filled with teenagers who think they’re pregnant, nice nod to S1, and tells Lucas she can confide in Jerome about her murderous fantasies when her brother wants her to visit. LMAO. Well it’s nice that she can talk to someone about that? Tell me that this tidbit isn’t made dramatically more interesting if Jerome is indeed a mannequin, though. Anyway, she encourages Lucas to find his Jerome, someone he can trust.

Outside, Lucas is sitting and thinking and brooding. He reaches his hand into his pocket and finds a note from Eliott. The tinkly piano music starts again, damn, they’re going for a record in this episode. I think it’s the same tune as when Lucas first saw Eliott. The note is a very cute cartoon of his raccoon fursona, “Eliott 25473” looking at a hedgehog and not approaching him, but “Eliott 34512″ runs towards his fate and talks to the hedgehog. Hedgehog looks super happy to see this raccoon. The animal cartoons continue to be one of my favorite parts of this season.

Lucas sees Eliott walking across the courtyard. That seems to make up his mind, so he puts the drawing in his pocket and gets up. He walks up to someone and asks if they can talk later. The view of the person is obscured just to give you a misdirect that Lucas is talking to Eliott, but of course it’s actually Yann. Yay, Yann! And we’re all so excited for this beloved scene to happen next!

Clip 7 - Coming out to Yann

Ahahahaha.

After school, Lucas and Yann are sitting on a bench in the schoolyard, and Lucas is saying how he has been acting weird lately. There’s the complicated situation with his parents, there’s school, there’s the rent he can’t pay … and he thinks he fell in love. Not with Chloe. It’s not a girl. Yann seems a little surprised, which Lucas observes, but mostly Yann just seems to be listening. Yann is like, but it’s not me? Lucas says no, but there was a time last year … he trails off as Yann seems to be thinking wait, what? So Lucas just holds off elaborating on that confession and tells Yann about Eliott. Yann seems to understand, he’s just nodding and listening, asking a few questions. All is well.

Lucas says he wanted to tell Yann the truth, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He went to see the nurse because he hasn’t been sleeping. She told him to talk to someone he trusts. Lucas talked to Mika and it bit him in the ass. Chloe got mad. Yann asks if anyone else knows. Lucas thinks Manon, Emma, and Alex are suspicious and have guessed, and when he talks to Imane about it, they fight. Lucas asks Yann what he thinks. Yann is turning over something in his head. Lucas wants to know what Yann is thinking.

And Yann says, he can’t do this right now. He needs time. And he gets up and walks off. Lucas sits there in shock and misery after Yann leaves as dramatic music plays. 

I feel like I need a drink before discussing this scene.

I do not think this was the right narrative choice, for multiple reasons. The clip has already been debated and discoursed, so I might not be saying anything new, but let’s unpack it from several angles. I will say upfront that after this scene, even before we got confirmation, I thought it was most likely Yann was upset about not being trusted, or other people finding out before he did, than because he was a big homophobe. But I still don’t think this makes the scene much better or justifiable.

From a basic writing standpoint: I think this was sloppy. I don’t think it was meant for anything other than throwing more shit at Lucas and some quick shock value. They wanted to surprise the viewers of the original show or throw in a plot twist. But none of this fits Yann’s character. The guy has been encouraging Lucas to confide in him during the season, so for this to happen when Lucas does finally confide? Feels wrong. Keep in mind that Lucas is not just confessing about being gay/falling in love with a guy: he mentions his family situation, his rent, school. Yann may not realize that Lucas was outed, but Lucas does mention the stress he’s felt from other people finding out about him and Eliott. So Yann hears all of this and decides to walk away, because of his own wounded feelings. Yann, after being supportive of Lucas and his family situation for ages. Okay. I get that characters aren’t perfect. But this doesn’t even feel like a choice Yann would make. Earlier in the episode he was like “either talk to us or sort your shit out”? He makes it clear that they’re not going to wait around for him if Lucas doesn’t want to talk, it’s caring but very no-nonsense, which is part of why it feels like his reaction doesn’t fit - he takes it personally that Lucas didn’t come to him. It just seems at odds, and I get that people don’t necessarily react consistently, but in a scripted TV show I do expect characters to react in a way that feels organic to their prior behavior.

Without a doubt it would have been worse to make Yann walk away because he’s genuinely homophobic, but in a way it feels even more contrived that he did so for other reasons? I’m trying to word this properly, but while making Yann homophobic would have been a horrible choice and I’m glad they didn’t go that far, the fact that he’s not makes this scene feel extremely petty in the overall narrative. Like when Yann explains himself in the next episode, it becomes abundantly clear that this was a fake-out, this was meant to throw the viewers off for a few days. It was just cheap. It doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of the narrative.

There’s the racial aspect. You cannot ignore that in this scene. We have two non-black Jonases in OG Jonas and Giovanni reacting amazingly to this confession, and the Skam France writers chose to make their black Jonas react poorly. I doubt their thought process was “he’s black so he’s gonna be more homophobic.” But I do think they should’ve thought the implications through. Because as much as people wanted to say race didn’t matter in this scene - it did. People already had an irrational dislike of Yann for doing the same things that Jonas and Giovanni did, and this clip just confirmed their worst biases. We had people hating the black character because of this change. People being like “I told you Yann was the worst and that he wouldn’t support Lucas!!!” when there wasn’t any reason to think Yann wouldn’t support Lucas prior to this scene. It was uncomfortable to watch this play out in parts of the fandom. And you had one of the character’s best, most shining moments taken away from him. Sure, the scene with Yann in the next episode is great. But the coming out scene is beloved and iconic, it made Skam fans love Jonas when many people had still been on the fence about him due to S1, and it could have been an equally powerful moment for Yann, a character who is already marginalized and dismissed by parts of fandom for being black. He didn’t get that. 

Also, when Basile and Arthur ended up being OTT LGBT allies to the point of comedy, and Yann is the one with a bad reaction ... not great that the white guys were overly awesome and the black character is the one who ditched his friend. I’m not saying Yann has to be perfect and that’s the only way he can be great representation. But they had a precedent of this character reacting well and they actively changed that to be worse, and they changed these other two characters to be even more enthusiastic about their friend being gay. Then we also have two other white characters, Manon and Mika, supporting and comforting Lucas when he’s breaking down, in part because Yann rejected him. It’s a pile of unfortunate implications.

Then we have prioritizing the straight character’s feelings. Yann’s reasons for walking away were about Yann, not Lucas. Yann being upset that Lucas didn’t trust him. Yann being upset he wasn’t the first one to know. It’s self-centered. And we’re supposed to assign narrative weight to how a straight character feels about a gay character coming out. This is one of the biggest moments of Lucas’ life, for any gay person’s life. It should not be about the straight character’s feelings. That was something that was so important about the original scene. Jonas showed empathy and understanding that this was Isak’s moment, not Jonas’. Jonas listened. He let Isak talk at his own pace. He asked about Isak, he asked about Even, he didn’t make it about how he, Jonas, should’ve noticed a long time ago or how he felt about it. By making Yann walk away, the scene doesn’t become about the relief Lucas feels, it doesn’t become his affirming moment. In fact, it doesn’t even feel totally like his miserable, shitty moment? Because now everyone is thinking why the fuck Yann did that, what’s wrong with Yann, is Yann going to come back and apologize, etc. The ~mystery takes the emphasis away from Lucas. 

In conjunction with the doctor scene… the actual fuck were they thinking? The advice given to Lucas was “find someone who you can trust” with the message that it’s such a relief to open up to someone. And this lesson as it actually plays out? Leads to rejection. Showing that if you talk to people, it won’t be any better, it might actually be worse because then your friend will leave you. What a great message. It’s not like talking to people and not bottling up your feelings is one of the most important lessons of the show. For a show that is aimed at helping teenagers through stress and shame, teaching them valuable lessons to deal with their problems, it’s thoughtless bordering on irresponsible to juxtapose these clips.

And that leads into my final point, which is not just about this scene, but about how criticism can be received in this fandom. We gotta talk about “realism” and its use as a defense in the Skam remakes.

Some people might ask, well, why does there need to be a great message in Skam? Why do there need to be life lessons in these clips? Can’t it just be an entertaining show? Or, the other popular argument: It’s realistic, therefore it’s beyond critique. (Usually not worded like that, but that’s the sum of the argument.)

Yes, Skam is a show built on realism. It is a show that captures teenage acne and awkward pauses and the mundane experience of lying on your bed texting someone, trying to think of the right things to say, in a way that is often glossed over by other TV series. But Skam is not just a realistic show. Skam is an idealistic show and it always has been. The show has always been about trying to give teenagers hope, to present positive models of behavior, to show the best of what we could be.

Here are some things that could be considered “realistic” in S3:

Isak rejecting Even due to his mental illness

Isak getting bullied and beaten up after being outed

Isak’s religious mom telling him he’s going to hell for being gay

Isak shoving himself back in the closet and continuing to date girls

Even killing himself due to depression

These are all extreme examples, for sure. But they’re things that have happened in real life. They’re stories that have been told in media before. Why didn’t Skam go there? Why did S3 end with Isak and Even in a happy, loving relationship, and not both of them dead from reenacting Romeo + Juliet, or Isak crying over Even’s grave, or Isak forever alone and miserable and suffering for being gay? Because that’s not the point of the fucking show. 

Skam is not perfect. The characters are not perfect. But you have to ignore a core value of the series if you want to claim that Skam is about realism but not idealism. There is a reason so many characters resolve their problems by talking about their feelings. There is a reason we get so many quotes about how we should have empathy for others. Are there many true villains in this series? The only one who feels completely irredeemable is William’s brother, the sexual predator, and even he got a moment of sympathy when Mari acknowledged how messed up his childhood was. Everyone else, even the ones who act as antagonists, eventually gets some kind of compassion and forgiveness. Isak ends S3 on good terms with basically everyone: his friends, his parents, his roommates, Even, even people like Sonja and Emma. Because the show wants to give you some goddamn hope. Skam wants to demonstrate how good we can be to each other when we try.

I watched this episode of Skam in real time. I was going through Isak’s misery day after day. I was there when the original clip of Isak and Jonas dropped. When Isak came to Jonas and Jonas reacted so wonderfully, it was a tremendous relief for both Isak and the audience. I remember when the regular hearts on the Skam website (the like button) turned into rainbow hearts - it was for that clip, and it was such a meaningful moment. Isak was out, the hearts had changed, Isak had changed, there was no going back, but it was a triumphant change. And it wasn’t Disneyland. The clip was healing. It inspired other fans to come out to their friends and loved ones.  

Circling back to Yann’s reaction here: I certainly get why it would resonate with viewers who’ve had similar experiences coming out to people and don’t want to invalidate their responses. It’s not that I think it’s completely out of line with Skam’s idealism for him to walk away. That he comes back in a few days and apologizes is a positive moment with good messages. It’s more that this moment was changed to be worse - I can’t help but feel it betrays that sense of optimism and hope that was built into Isak’s story. Because the fact that they went for the more dramatic shock value moment, rather than the healing moment, feels deeply cynical about what they want for the viewers. As I said above, the change didn’t feel well thought-out, it felt cheap. It’s pretty meaningless in the whole narrative, it’s just a quick gut punch to make you (and Lucas) feel bad. There are other bad things that happen to Lucas that matter in the overall story, because they influence his character or push the plot forward. This felt like angst for the sake of angst. "Realism” should not be a shield for every writing choice on the show, or else we can let all sorts of shitty tropes (and just plain lazy writing) happen in the name of realism. 

Also, can we get rid of the idea that Norway is some homophobia-free paradise and Jonas’ reaction makes sense only in an LGBT wonderland? Homophobia is everywhere. Some places more than others, for sure, but nowhere is perfect. Isak’s story was full of homophobia even if he wasn’t getting gay bashed. How do you think he developed internalized homophobia in the first place? If Isak’s culture is devoid of homophobia, then why is he so nervous about coming out to people at all? 

And I gotta say, after events in episode 7, it is totally ridiculous to defend this scene as realism and “not Disneyland” when Basile and Arthur are basically wearing Mickey Mouse ears when they learn Lucas is gay. Not that I think it’s wrong for them to be supportive, just that their scene is clearly grounded in idealism.

The original clip with Jonas reacting well to Isak coming out? Was based on a true story. It’s just as realistic as Yann walking away.

Social Media/General Comments

Lmao, Daphne’s inspiration deco for the common room. Dream big, girl. I like Alex’s response of pretty pink and elegant toilet paper decorations. Emma suggests a big box of condoms, which is the most practical suggestion.

Eliott posted a picture of his raccoon fursona throwing out many notes, so probably him struggling to come up with the right thing to say/draw to Lucas.

Daphne and Lucas have a friendly conversation. She really wanted him to go lift that couch.

Eliott posts another picture with a Virginia Woolf quote, saying “In case you ever foolishly forget, I am never not thinking of you.” Should be obvious that he’s thinking about Lucas. Virginia Woolf is a good choice for Eliott to quote since she was supposed to be bipolar, as well as bisexual (not pansexual, as Eliott may identify like Even did, but still relatable as they’re both into more than one gender). 

Here’s a post about the Pygmalion reference with the picture Eliott posted. I feel like there’s something to be said about Polaris, too, and Lucas embodying one of the characters in Eliott’s movie, so that it feels like Lucas is lifted right out of Eliott’s art.

Eliott deleted the cartoons of him and Lucille cat after the cafeteria conversation with Lucas about having to choose. He CHOSE.

There’s a very sweet text from Manon and Lucas where she thanks him for last night, it was nice to not talk with him. Awww. They do have a nice relationship.

Emma seems done with Raptor Alex judging by her post “when he’s a fuckboy but he’s cute as hell” which goes along with the conversation when they’re moving the couch. Do we think Emma and Yann will end up getting back together, next season perhaps? Will she and Alex continue to be FWB? Or will Emma find someone else? Or be single for a while? 

Super depressing post from Lucas after he comes out to Yann, a cartoon saying “God needs your boat to use as an ash tray” showing that he’s really slipping and feels like he’s drowning. When Yann walked away, he took Lucas’ last shred of hope with him. JFC.

I’m not French so feel free to explain or clarify something I missed.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

[art-of-emmett]

Designed some outfits for the lad Rex Raptor since he’s only got maybe 2 canon outfits? Nothing in particular I was going for, just sorta went ham, maybe summer stuff? This is my first time actually going out and designing outfits, I’ll be sure to do it more often now because it was really fun!

*Feel free to draw ‘im with any of these outfits / use the outfits for other characters, just tag me / message me the finished result :D * 

*Art blog still completely unfinished since the beginning of time but I need to put this somewhere*  

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1 - This one is closest to his usual look with a few key changes. This one he’d be way less likely to like, overheat in. Cargo shorts! Also the backturned lidded hat, hair in a ponytail, and circular black earrings

2 - Idk, lowkey looks a bit like a clubbing outfit. Idk what I was going for. But I really like how the mesh red eyes black dragon shirt worked out tho! This is the only outfit with his classic hat. Also there’s ripped jeans, the fire colored bracelets and a small dinosaur keychain

3 - Went into this one knowing I wanted to make an outfit with yellow SOMEWHERE. Idk how it works as an outfit tbh, but I like the individual pieces. Especially the pointed teeth mouth shirt!

4 - This one goes completely out of his usual aesthetic, a lot of folks I’ve seen go with the punk aesthetic for him, but this is more vaporwave / hippie. Who cares, I still think it’s cool! I especially love the “Winner” pants, ironically he’s never won a duel on-screen, but he’s still a winner in my books! A miss-able accessory here is the dino egg necklace.

[wunderschon-lieblich]

Tag Game

15 questions, 15 tags

tagged by @kasseivor thank you friend!

Nickname: I don’t really use one but my bestie insists that my middle name is Gertrude (it isn’t)

Height: 5′

Last thing I googled: LPS gen 1 iguana resell price

Song stuck in my head: Currently listening to Heartbreaker by Badsuns so nothing stuck in there rn

# followers: 171

Amount of sleep: sufficient

Dream job: tie between a set builder for stop motion movies or the village witch in that lives in a spooky cottage and heals your ailments with strange magic

Wearing: Comfy periwinkle colored tourist tshirt that I got when my gf took me to Maggie Valley for my bday and black athletic shorts (for lounging only)

Book/movie that summarizes you: not a book or movie but Avatar The Last Airbender had a more profound effect on my personality than my own parents tbh so I’m going with that. I could also say Practical Magic though.

Fav song: hard to say but my top song this year was Eternal Blue by Spiritbox

Aesthetic: kinda goth but lazy about it. witchy. I love whimsigoth decor and an overall cluttered and eclectic space.

Fav authors: I guess C.S. Pacat. Not a big book reader but the Captive Prince series will always have a piece of my heart

Random fact: I’ve had this blog since approximately 2013 and only really started posting and interacting in fandom (beyond reblogging) in 2021 because Eivor is just that powerful (I also went digital with my art and it’s easier to share so the stars really aligned for this shit)

@blkdyke @misfit-lunitic @sapphic-woes @somamylittleobsession @brit-o-raptor @that-drummer-chick @gay-valkyries

I don’t have a lot of active mutuals so @ anyone who sees this post and wants to do it

Have fun and happy new year everyone!

[thisandthat123456-blog]

Day 3, 4, and vacation.

Engads! I have been so bad about updating. My apologies to those who actually follow and are notified when I post. As a majority of the people will see this in passing on their dash filled with cute animal pics, I doubt most of you will care. Tbh I had forgotten about doing so until my friend asked me about it. He shall be my motivator to write every week! I gotta keep in shape before fall with all that scientific writing. Booya! (Please note it is also late for me, so much of this may be silly or not make sense.)

June 17th and 18th. Big sis and I prepped diets all morning. Can I just take minute here to discuss my small crush on a very cute Coast Guard? The coast guard sends some of their peeps to volunteer with us on Saturdays. They do the mundane chores like weeding, and repairing fences and whatnot. I get to do all the fun stuff! Anyway there is a really cute one that decided it would be fun to look into the fridges to show his friend all the frozen gophers and quail without asking anyone who was preping diets for the next day, which was irratating because our freezers suck so that the auto lock turns on after opening and shutting it for about a minute. I showed them the gophers and mice we had already pulled and were defrosting for tomorrow and they recoiled in disgust although they seemed to still be intregued. There’s another intern, a young woman (well compared to me she’s old lol no one show her this blog) who has the same volunteer shifts as me, and also goes to my college and is the same major, except a semester ahead of me. I’ve kinda adopted her as my big sis as she offers to take all the jobs I hate. She’s the sweetest thing I love her, like platonically. When preping diets for the raptors, she cut them up for me! I owe her big time! Animal wise, there isn't much to mention for this week except for two: the kite and the gray foxes. In the raptor center we had a juvenile kite brought in. If you've never seen a kite before, they are gray and white in color. They have a cool hunting tactic where they will hover above the ground hundreds of feet in the air like a hummingbird, dive a hundred feet at a time before surprising their prey. This little guy was smaller than some of the other birds before and we had to cut his mice into fourths, and SHOVE IT DOWN HIS THROAT. BUAHAHAHA. I think the worse part was having to grab him because he let out this horrible grating, screeching noise, and we were in this enclosed space. My poor eardrums. Much louder than any of the other raptors I had encoutered. Nini (An intern from last year who still volunteers) taught me how to properly restrain him while she forcefed the little bugger. Afterwards, Nini and I had to go weigh the gray fox pups in enclosure 22. It's a smaller enclosure compared to some of the other ones, and the foxes were small, not as able to get away from us as the larger ones are. Nini taught me how to grab them (They bite!) with our thick gloves and carry them into the weighing box. We put them on the scale. They were around 1200 g which was good for their size and age. As a wildlife rehabilitator I know I am not supposed to say this, but look up pics of juvenile gray foxes. They are so cute! They look and will at times at like puppies, but boy are they not. Weekend of June 24th: Went to LA for grandmother's 80th. It was horrible except being able to visit the LA zoo, which was basically my childhood. I am rather concerned about some of the animals, however as it was in the 90s and there did not appear to be adequate shelter and water in many of the enclosures. I remember when the LA zoo had a polar bear and baby the python, both of whom passed in small enclosures. I keep having flashbacks of that memory of a yellowed bear lying distressed on the rocks on the enclosure that is now the gharial exhibit. I don't know. I'm probably worried for naught. I was a young kid and didn't understand much. As always, please do not take home any wild animals. Let them stay wild.

[deliciouslyexplosive]

Cedar Point Headcanons

This gets long. Only the bigger coasters for now since I haven’t been on or really care about the smaller kid/family ones.

Blue Streak-

A sweet old fellow, used to be more rowdy in his youth but has had to slow down over the years, but not as much so as some wooden coasters. Sort of generic-looking average-built old man, looks sort of like the typical mental image of the guys who actually make coasters. Wild about anything blue, especially towards the lighter or cyan side and exclusively wears that color. A real peacekeeper, on good terms with just about everyone in the park being the oldest coaster there.

Corkscrew-

A someone eccentric, but serious older lady. White/dark blue hair, thin, boxy figure, very 70s sense of style. Something of a wine mom. Loves to shut down dirty jokes/negative comments (especially from Magnum) with godawful wine/patriotic jokes or wholesome twists. Makes cursed jello salads.

Gemini-

Nerdy old identical twins, somewhat similar in appearance and personality to Blue Streak but more into that sweet 70s aesthetic than blue. They really don’t think much of younger (mid-80s and later) Arrows like Magnum since they’re too much for them to handle but get along very well with older B&Ms. Somewhat awkward and standoffish, and not too talkative, but nice once you get to know them. A decent and stable source of authority in the park who aren’y corrupted by a quiet lust for chaos like Blue Streak.

Iron Dragon-

Very petite lady, imaginative and fond of make-believe games like looking for shapes in clouds, Dungeons and Dragons, and pretending she has theming. Good with kids because of that, sometimes comes out to entertain guests in long lines. Like other Arrow suspended coasters, she tends to hide pain or serious problems from others behind a cheerful exterior, and some at the park worry she may not have long left since her kind often doesn’t live as long as more typical steel coasters because of the stress of the swinging on the track.

Magnum XL-200

An egotistical, vulgar, but surprisingly dependable drama queen who still thinks he’s top of the line. He constantly talks about fucking and makes terrible naughty jokes about anyone and everyone until they shoo him away (slapping does nothing... he’s actually into that lmao). Dresses in full 80s glam/sexy rocket ship regalia with crazy red hair, full makeup, way too much spandex, giant stupid shoulder pads, and hardcore cheekbones. Sometimes rocks a Madonna bullet bra even. Extremely energetic, very off key but dramatic singer, awful driver. His personality makes him someone you either love or hate, though he’s softened a little over time. An item with Vortex over at Kings Island and regularly drives three hours+ nonstop to reach him, he’s very determined and would do anything for his friends/family/lovers

Mean Streak/Steel Vengeance:

Mean Streak was a sadsack all his life and just wallowed in it, feeling hopeless due to being such an inherently shitty ride layout-wise and a massive resource drain. And then Mean Streak had a midlife crisis and got RMCd and started parading around as a wannabe outlaw. And grew half a foot, decided to out-Maverick Maverick and thus steal her heart, and came out as a lady. The last one surprised absolutely nobody, there had been a lot of signs. She doesn’t mind and actually prefers being referred to as male when discussing Mean Streak since she wants to distance herself from being that person and really loves roasting Mean Streak.

Anyways, SV is nucking futs and shockingly agile and bouncy for being pretty bulky and well-endowed. As said before, she fancies herself an outlaw, talks in a laughably fake country accent (her natural voice is midwestern), carries one of those toy guns with the little “bang” flag, and drunkenly crashes park shows at times and joins in dancing (surprisingly well). Used to fuck with the park train by holding fake robberies that consist of begging people for Cheetos and trying to recreate Buster Keaton stunts. She stopped that shit fast after being lectured about safety and rules, every coaster person’s weakness. Kind of (a huge) dumbass and impulsive as hell but makes up for it in charm and passion and certainly brings some excitement wherever she goes. May be lowkey into vore. And highkey loves boobs and a huge lesbian (much to the disappointment of Magnum who’s had a lowkey crush on her his whole life).

Raptor-

A tree stump of a guy, with thin, spiky hair, a constant glare of disapproval, and some kind of 90s windbreaker on no matter the weather. Very much the stern, no fun sort, with little tolerance for most other coasters at the Point except his buddy Rougarou and the older Arrows. Just an overall stubborn and not terribly loveable guy, but hardworking and dependable as B&Ms tend to be. Him and Magnum mutually hate each other.

Rougarou

More friendly than Raptor, but still the aloof sort. Very hairy and apparantly bleeds green. Shoots the shit with on the beach and complains about the youngins with Raptor, but their feelings are mutually entirely platonic. Dresses in generally modest or heavy clothing. Don’t speak to him about Mantis. Just don’t. They are the same person, but he holds MUCH more animosity towards his old identity than Steel does and doesn’t even appreciate joking about it like her.

Millennium Force-

Serene, graceful, sort of supermodel-like lady. Willowy but surprisingly strong, kind and generally accepted as authority within the park, to Magnum’s disappointment. She’s actually a bit lonely because she tends to seem so unapproachable to others and they don’t get close to her or fall in love with her as a coaster only. Long hair, fishnets, form-fitting and sometimes skimpy outfits.

Wicked Twister-

A grating, annoying guy who likes grating, annoying things like early 2000s pop music and bright colors. Never really grew up past his teenage years and lives on curly fries and soft serve. Fortunately, a number of the flats in his area are also that way, so good for him.

Top Thrill Dragster-

Nervous and flighty as hell, absolute beanpole of a guy, once got tricked into being Henry from Thomas the Tannk Engine for Halloween and tbh that’s not a bad comparison. Physically fragile, but very coordinated and a good sprinter despite his lanky limbs. Sometimes goes on joyrides in “borrowed” cars with Magnum, who ‘s been trying to get him out of his shell to mixed success. His sense of humor certainly wiped off on him, much to everyone’s annoyance. He’s terrified of rain and lunch meat, because it looks like a warped brake fin to him.

Maverick-

Even more of a tree stump than Raptor, snappy little lady who used to be a real dick, especially to Mean Streak, until they ripped off her hard restraints. She softened up a bit after that but still is a wild child (somewhat more cautious than Steel, though). Once Steel got converted she got a massive mutual crush on her and things worked out and now those two are a thing despite the rivalry in SV’s park backstory. She’s fucking crazy about horses even though she doesn’t know shit about them or how to ride them. A true match made in heaven for SV the fake western outlaw.

Gatekeeper-

Sweet, calm, and pretty ditzy. Likes to just stare at the lake or sky or whatever until someone snaps her out of it. Not exactly bright, but very nice and perhaps too affectionate, making her a good greeter for the park. Broad, birdlike chest and long arms, wears loose-fitting, light colored, comfortable, clothing.

Valravn-

Also a big, friendly, but spacey gal like Gatekeeper. It’s a new-school B&M thing. A lot like her, but a bit less affectionate, a bit smarter, and much physically beefier (but still top heavy and birdlike in proportions). Unsurprisingly, those two have become a thing. They’re a cute couple for sure, very loving and affectionate and find of long walks and sunset watching on the beach together.