#it was good quality and i had fun which is whats most important

[blazingcobaltx]

LETS GOOOOOO TIMESKIP ENDING

[aleiellovesyou]

Who Is Your Next Romantic Partner ?

Pile 1 - Pile 4

Pile 1

Pile 1, your next romantic partner is going to be someone you will just adore. They’re a romantic and sentimental person that will really take your relationship seriously. It looks like they take all of their commitments seriously. They may be in school right now or they really enjoy learning about things that will help them grow and develop in life. I feel like this person has a great balance of stability and adaptability in their life. They’re also LOYAL and very energetic. They might channel their energy into good conversations rather than being really physically active. However, I do see them taking pride in their physique and most likely lives a healthy lifestyle. They take care of themselves and they’ll love taking care of you. This person could be born in winter or you’ll meet them in winter or they could be an earth sign, specially Virgo. If you’ve already met them, winter might be when you start dating. However, for most of you I’m feeling like this is a new person. When you meet, they will feel like so grateful that the universe brought the two of you together. They are very sweet and the type to plan surprise dates, random gifts, and fun activities together.

That’s all for you Pile 1, love and blessings!💙

Pile 2

Pile 2, your next romantic partner is giving me a lot of Fire sign energy. They are very ambitious and love experiences the joys and triumphs of life. You might find that they have really big dreams for their future and they could be a financial asset to you in some way. I feel like you’ve already met this person. There’s history here but I’m not sure what the nature of your relationship was. Something is going to happen that brings you guys together like some kind of destined event. This person could be an Aries or Leo however sagittarius energy is subtly present too. Either they were born in summer or you will be brought together in the summer time. Maybe this was someone you knew that moved away and will be coming back. That’s a message for a few of you. I see this person is very optimistic, creative, ambitious, passionate, and nostalgic in a way, like you may have had similar childhoods. Although they have a little fire they could be a little naive.

That’s all I have for you pile 2, love and blessings💛

Pile 3

*tw: substance abuse mentioned

Pile 3 your next romantic partner is definitely a water sign, BIG scorpio energy here. This person is very deep and fights internal emotional turmoil that they are actively trying to heal. This person is very deep in their healing journey. So they are really self aware. I feel like this person is cold, stoic , and intelligent. They have soft spots tho and can actually be kind of sensitive. I feel like this person is at a point in their life when you two meet/start dating that they will be releasing negative patterns/toxic behaviors. They want to be a better version of themself. For some they might be letting go of some kind of substance abuse. I also feel like this person is spiritual and believes in energy and the importance of having self awareness, self control, and good discernment.

That’s all I have for you pile 3, love and blessings🩵

Pile 4

Pile 4 this is a very patient, supportive, empathetic, and thoughtful person. I feel like their main love languages are quality time & physical touch. I feel like this person has a bit of a dark past which makes them a bit guarded when it comes to openly expressing emotion. They just take time to open up and reveal themselves. They seem like a a loner and they need to feel a deep sense of connection before they can open up, which is hard because how can you build a connection if someone won’t open up?? I see that it will take time to build something with this person in order for them to be more open. You might feel like they have a lot of secrets or this person just has a lot of fears about getting close to people even tho they crave closeness. I see they could be a Taurus or another earth sign. I believe you’ll be patient with them and start off as friends or maybe you’re already friends, then it will develop into more when this person feels safe.

That’s all I have for you Pile 4, love and blessings💜

[kcwriter-blog]

More thoughts on Solavellan

I started replying to a post about the psychological aspect of Solavellan because it was interesting, well thought out and I thought good points were made but it got very long, and I had new thoughts. I wanted to put them down. This is not a criticism of that post in any way, it’s good and I urge people to read it. I just see things differently.

The big problem I have with most takes on Solavellan is how they take agency away from Lavellan whenever Solas is mentioned. We have a woman who grew to be one of the most powerful leaders in Thedas but when we talk about her and her feelings, she suddenly becomes this naive child desperately in love with the man who broke her heart. I just don’t see it. I don’t see a relationship – no matter how intense – of a few months, defining her going forward. So, let’s look at it.

Solas and Lavellan do love each other deeply. We don’t hear Lavellan say I love you until the breakup scene and she never calls him vehnan until Trespasser. Obviously, that is, as with most things in the romance, because it was a rushed, late add to the game. But it is interesting.

People get on Solas’ case for not defining the relationship, but I would argue she isn’t in a hurry to define it either. Which is smart. They haven’t been together long and one, the other, or both of them could die.

It’s possible that Crestwood is the first chance they have had to talk about it. I’ve never liked the first dialogue option because Lavellan seems genuinely surprised that up until now, she doesn’t know what to call Solas. Which is silly. They have been exclusive for a few months now. They are in love. She’s been calling him something and my guess is it is vhenan (her heart, home). And Solas fully intends to have that discussion. He just gets cold feet because what he has to tell her isn’t something she is going to believe.

Moving on. The valleslin scene has had a lot posted about it and I don’t want to get into it. I think what’s important is not whether it is removed or not but the idea that Solas alone destroys her faith by telling her the truth. Did he hammer the final nail in the coffin of her faith? Yes, but a smart Lavellan has to be questioning everything already. Why? Because she met Mythal.

Even before she meets the head of her pantheon, she has been to the Temple of Mythal and learned a lot that differs from her people’s mythology. She learns that Mythal was murdered, not locked away. She learns that the Dread Wolf had no part in that murder. She sees a depiction of the Dread Wolf in an antechamber of the temple in a guard dog position which is weird. If she drank from the Well, she has a lot of ancient elven voices in her head telling her stuff. If she didn’t, she would have Morrigan telling her the same stuff.

She meets ancient elves. And those elves don’t see her or the Dalish as their own. Just as a reminder, Solas isn’t the only ancient elf to have feelings about the Dalish. Abelas is very pointed about saying Lavellan isn’t one of his people. Felassan makes fun of the Dalish. Mythal says “the People bend the knee to easily” in DA2. Heck, Felassan thinks more of the city elves than he does of the Dalish. Solas eventually comes around. It’s a grudging respect but he does allow that they have some good qualities.

Lavellan meets Mythal and Mythal isn’t exactly a nice person. She has chosen to possess the body of a human, not an elf. She never helps the elves. So, you have an elven goddess in diminished form running around helping human heroes but doing nothing for the people that pray to her. That must rock her world and her faith.

Her faith is already on the ledge by Crestwood. Solas possibly pushes it over. And he never would have told her if he hadn’t messed up and changed his mind about the other thing. It’s all impulsive. He isn’t thinking straight, just covering his ass and it hurts her. However, I think he still intended to carry on the relationship without telling her the truth. During the kiss, he finally realizes that if he loves her so much he almost told her everything, then not telling her is morally wrong and he comes up with a reason to end it.

After the breakup, Lavellan is hurt. It always hurts when someone breaks up with you. What hurts the most is knowing he still loves her. What also hurts is he won’t give her a reason. I don’t think she is questioning everything he told her at this point. He’s just the cold-hearted son of a bitch who broke her heart.

Most of us have been there. We’ve got breakup playlists, alcohol and friends to help get us through it. I usually imagine my Lavellan grabbing Bull, Dorian and Cole to help her take out her anger on a poor unsuspecting dragon. I also put off triggering the Wicked Grace game until after the breakup.

That doesn’t mean she isn’t angry or crying on Josephine’s shoulder. Of course she is, but she isn’t questioning her life choices. She could tell Solas to get lost, but she keeps him around. She is even kind to him when the Orb is discovered broken.

And everyone is kind of busy planning to find and finish Corypheus off once and for all. I see her putting a pin in it. Once they win, she will confront him and demand answers.

She doesn’t get the chance because he leaves without saying goodbye. That has to hurt. I don’t see her in a place where she could never trust anyone ever again. It’s more likely, she throws daggers at a drawing of him out in the practice yard. Even if she still loves him, she is an adult not a maiden in distress. As much as she loves Solas, her entire world does not revolve around him.

Solas made his choice. She may be concerned about him - especially after Cole’s cryptic message - but I don’t see her searching frantically for him. He knows where she is and can send her a message if he needs her.  

And she is busy. She must help clean up the mess Cory made. She has rifts to close. She has dignitaries to meet. She has paperwork. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for pining.

There is an idea that Lavellan is alone because all of her inner circle except her advisors go off and do their own thing. Except that isn’t true. They write letters – which you can find exploring the Winter Palace – in those letters some of them mention having visited or that they will visit. Lavellan is also capable of making new friends. She is not static.

Solas leaving her may still hurt. She may have (and probably did) tried to move on but so far no one matched him for any number of reasons. She is only alone in the sense that any leader is alone. What she probably misses the most about Solas is that he always treated her like a person, not an icon.

Then we get to Trespasser. If you have found all the clues for the secret dialogue option, she has figured out Solas is the Dread Wolf long before she confronts him. She has seen the murals, learned his story. She knows the Dalish got it wrong. She knows from experience that the Dalish get a lot wrong. And he’s Solas. She might not know him as well as she thought but she saw beneath his mask a little. She isn’t going to be afraid of this figure out of Dalish legend. Mostly she is going to be pissed because he didn’t tell her the truth, because he didn’t trust her.

As far as the arm thing goes. Weekes and Epler have said, he did not amputate her arm. Solas drew out the magic that was killing her. The arm disintegrated. It was already doing so by the time she meets Solas. If he hadn’t drawn out the magic, she would have disintegrated just like Solas’ friend Wisdom. I think arguments that she would have trouble trusting anyone based on this are a non-starter

Once all that is over, will Lavellan have a hard time trusting anyone? She will have a hard time trusting Solas. Who wouldn’t? Will it color her perception of anyone she might want to be romantically involved with? For a few years maybe but what are the chances she will fall in love with another god?

Trust isn’t just about people you’ve been romantically linked with. She still trusts her inner circle. They help her. A bad experience with one person, no matter how much she may love him, isn’t going to make her stop trusting people entirely.

Now apart from Solavellan, I’m pretty sure Lavellan is messed up psychologically. You can’t go through what she did and not be a little messed up. But it is that experience that may make her empathize with Solas and understand why he left her.

She knows what it is like to be a leader. Not in the sense of leading her clan but in the sense that her decisions have huge consequences. She knows how a leader’s decisions are always second guessed - like they are at the Exalted Council if you chose to exile the Wardens. She knows what it is like to have to step up and be the one to save the world. She knows that sometimes there are no good choices, and you do the best you can. She knows it messes you up and you can lose your way. Solas has lost his.

Is it ten times harder to empathize when you loved that person, and they destroyed your trust? Yes. Solas will have to win her trust back. She will view anything he says or does with suspicion, as anyone would. However, Solas rarely outright lies. She knows this. She will be asking a lot more questions and be paying more attention. She also knows that he didn’t lie about loving her.

Okay, but he is still planning to tear down the Veil so he must not love her very much. Her love moved the needle. He went from believing nothing was real to thinking everyone is real. Is it so hard to imagine that Lavellan thinks he can be reasoned with? I doubt she thinks her love alone will change him. That doesn’t mean she won’t want to try. That doesn’t mean she will want him back when it’s all over. It also doesn’t mean she is a quivering mess obsessing over their relationship.

Solavellan can be whatever you want it to be, based on your own experiences. For some it's an angsty story with a Lavellan pining for him. For others, she gets over it fast with Cullen's help. For me, she is a strong, proud woman who is able to use her own experiences to empathize with Solas and want to save him from himself. She may still love him, but that love has been tempered by her experiences with him. They will need to have a long talk if they ever meet up again.

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Demo — Feedback gathering!

Hello everyone!

Here we are today with a quite long post about the feedback we have received since our demo became available this past Wednesday. First of all, we want to thank you all for more than 700 downloads on itch, and more than 1000 on Steam. That's crazy! 💜

82 of you have completed our demo survey, helping this feedback gathering be way easier! We'll start with the non-spoiler stuff, and move to spoiler territory so those of you who have not been able to try out the demo yet can rest easy!

Before we start, however—

THE DEMO *HAS* 7 CGS!

If you are missing one, then it means you can obtain it by playing once more! We'll make sure to highlight this note everywhere, as some people have been confused about Amon/Envy not having a CG, or not having a scene to shine, which they do! We apologize for not making this super clear, as it's noted on our itch.io page, but under "Features", when it should have been everywhere and in big bold letters!

✦ THE GATHERED FEEDBACK WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN OUR EXTENDED FREE DEMO

As of now, no major changes will be done to our first demo, sadly because there's no time. We are focusing on getting our Kickstarter out there and on creating high-quality content that may help us fund the full game. The first thing we'll work on if our Kickstarter is successful is the Extended Free Demo, which will see all the feedback you've given us implemented!

✦ OVERALL ENJOYMENT OF THE DEMO

More than 96% of players who did our survey enjoyed (or greatly enjoyed!) our demo, which is fantastic! We have to take this with a grain of salt, because those who didn't have a good time probably didn't finish playing it. Those who didn't enjoy the demo that much left their personal feedback, so we are super grateful for the effort of sharing their thoughts even if they didn't have fun.

✦ PACING OF THE DEMO

Most players thought the pacing was good! Some noted that the demo starts off slow (which we kind of knew—more on that below!), while others thought the demo rushes a bit to show all the love interests.

Me, the writer, and our editor Allie, knew this, so it doesn't come up as a surprise. Just to give you all some insight, as surely not all of you have been following us since we started posting about LiL; our original demo was way longer than what it ended up being. We ended up rewriting and scrapping a lot of that because it was too much work for the four of us. There were a lot more sprites and backgrounds to work on, and we decided we wanted to focus on the love interests (as they are the thing that will decide whether players want to support us or not) even if that meant the pacing wasn't perfect.

We didn't want the demo development to last another year, so we had to give a bit of story context in our actual demo without info-dumping absolutely everything, and we had to get to the love interests "fast" enough for people not to get bored while not going "fast" enough for it to feel too rushed.

Whether we did a good job or not is up to the players, and of course this feedback will help us to improve the pacing in our Extended Demo. I can only hope we have the chance to work on it to show our real vision of the demo and prologue and implement the feedback given to us when it comes to the writing / pacing, without the pressure of getting ourselves out there as soon as possible to find out if we'll be able to support ourselves and our work or not!

✦ THE TONE

The vast majority of players enjoyed the way the demo stablishes the tone of the game! Those who didn't thought the serious tone being mixed with the funny / quirky moments wasn't well done, which is completely valid!

✦ THE PLOT

93% of surveyed players thought the plot was well stablished! Luckily, there's no "I understood nothing", so that's a good sign so far! Some players noted that they felt lost but that feeling lost was the point (which it was!).

One player suggested to have the definition of important words somewhere, which will be the purpose of the Compendium in the full game! If you have played Alaris' , Crescence has a similar feature where you can place your mouse on top of a highlighted word and get an explanation of it! That's something we want to implement for the full game.

✦ ASPECTS PEOPLE LIKED ABOUT THE DEMO, AND WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED

Players generally liked the art, the story, and the characters, which is great!

People seemed to agree on wanting MORE CHOICES, and we were given advice on some parts of the current demo that would benefit of an extra choice or a choice to begin with.

We'll keep this in mind for the Extended Demo, which should give you all more time to enjoy the flavor choices and other aspects of our choice systems. Also, some of you wished for a button to turn off timed choices, which...

...Is something we decided we wanted way before starting to code the demo. Our UI artist, Alice, implemented this in our configuration screen mock-up, but I ended up being unable to program this feature. I didn't know how to do it, and with my newbie abilities it seemed impossible to achieve, so we decided to wait for the Extended demo so I had time to ask around, read, and grasp the best way to do this. I'm sorry T_T.

✦ AS FOR THE CHARACTERS (MC included)...

And this is spoiler territory!

Some people disliked Amon's southern accent (which he's very sad about), some people felt really betrayed by Gael (poor thing), and some wanted to push Envy down a set of stairs (completely valid).

Some didn't like Pride because he's "an old fart" (he's the God of Old Farts, in fact), some wanted for the MC to be able to be more aggressive towards characters like Raeya, and some thought Ara was too nice, Xal too goofy, and that took away the seriousness of the situation.

These are not the majority (everyone had their favorite and their least liked, but you all seemed happy with our cast!) but these opinions are completely valid and we wanted to highlight them.

River was liked enough for a 3~ hour demo, which we are happy about.

The majority of players thought they were relatable and liked the fact that they had a personality outside of choices; others thought there should've been more choices to really differentiate the possible personalities you can choose for the MC, and others noted it was hard to self-insert.

River is not written to be a completely blank slate, which is something we note in our Tumblr Masterpost but that should've been added to the itch page. We apologize for the confusion this may have generated. We wanted (and want) to create a balance between River being a proper character and for it to still allow some kind of self-insert and personalization. We know this will be difficult, but it's something we want to work on and we are confident we can achive a correct balance.

In the Extended Demo and full game, you'll have a chance to personalize some of River's tastes to match your own MC or your self-insert. For example, River plays the guitar, but you'll be able to select whether they're good at it, if they took classes, if they.....suck at it, or if they play another instrument.

This will, of course, only happen in the "flavor" and "personality" choices. Sadly, you won't be able to choose to a T what the MC does at any given time.

And that's all for now! I hope this post has been informative, and please don't hesitate to direct more feedback our way to help us improve. We are still reading your asks, gathering info and feedback from players and other devs, and thinking about the best way to bring those suggestions to life.

Thank you all so so much for the incredible support; for gifting us your time with reviews, feedback, or encouraging words. We hope we can keep working hard and bringing Lost in Limbo's demo to its full potential!

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

Thoughts on Jason Todd’s choice of weaponry?

:D an ask! Yay!

Oooh, lets see, I'll start with the crowbars because I appear to be like one of three people on the entire planet who actually likes them.

They're a tacky as fuck riff on the fact that Jason's death is central to his character. They overemphasize the manner in which he died, muddy the waters about what part of his death is important to him, and strangely cheapens the manner in which he died through the parody feel of it.

No one seems to really disagree with my analysis here, but I happen to enjoy that about them and think it's very on brand for Jason. What can I say? They're fun!

Best Quality - His Wiggles

This ultra-sharp curved blade used to be his signature character design feature, the way the white streak in his hair is now, and I'm really not sure why it didn't stick!

Best weapon he's ever had, bring it back please!!!!!

The All-Blades

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...

I have mixed feelings about the All-Blades. Like much of Lobdell's work: phenomenal idea, poor execution. Giving the guy who is most known for being morally grey a set of powers that is exclusively based on moral absolutes sucks shit, I gotta be honest, and the trick he pulled on the blood blade was cool but ultimately does nothing to solve those problems.

HOWEVER

I want to love them so fucking badly. A set of glowy soul blades is a dope sicknasty off the chain concept and I wish the well wasn't poisoned with the moral implications and the restrictions to use them only on the "Untitled", a set of enemies that only exist for Jason so far as I can tell. If someone seriously took Jason down a magic based path that removed the DnD alignment chart bullshit, I would be so game to see them come back! Hell I wouldn't even insist on a better cooler design for them!

...though uh, yeah those are the least interesting magic sword designs I've ever seen tbh

Normal Ass Swords

They're alright I guess. Like, there's nothing in it really, but it's not bad?

Guns - Real Bullets

Excellent, evocative yet simple, straightforwards and to the point. It makes hella sense thematically to boot, love this for him, please give him back his pistols and miniguns and shit

Guns - Rubber Bullets

Hate. HATE. hate ick disgusting bad NO.

I just fucking hate rubber bullets, like, as a concept. I refuse to accept "non-lethal" bullets as a valid use of gun, either in real life or in fiction. Guns are for putting many holes in things very fast!!!! If you're gonna use a gun, fucking well own up to that!!! Do not play this silly ass game of pretending that you can change out the material and do the same things as with lead bullets but with the video game status effect of "non-lethal" applied. YOU ARE GIVING PEOPLE SMALL CIRCULAR BRUISES. This is still harmful, yes, ooph ouchie, but it is not even slightly a good use of a gun, you are wasting holster space, and carry weight, and the physical materials used to make it all!!

JUST USE A FUCKING STICK! YOU DON'T RUN OUT OF STICK AMMO!

My belief in his capacity to take out enemies is shattered the instant those fuckers are on panel. Maybe this ain't entirely rational, or realistic to how fights go with rubber bullets IRL, but I hate them so much on principle that I will ignore any counterargument you might have that they'd work. I will die on this hill. Rubber bullets BAD. Please stop making him use this!!

Bombs

Love it, give him more bombs forever

ka-BOOM!!!!

His Brain

This is actually his best weapon - sorry wiggly knife, you're being shunted down to number 2 on a last minute technicality! I think Jason is at his best when he's outsmarting people and making long term fucked up schemes to ruin people's lives.

He's so good at it! It's so fun to watch him do it!

Genuinely a shame that this facet of him was mostly lost after Flashpoint, though to give credit where it is due, in Rebirth Jason did ruin the Penguin's life in an impressively elaborate way, which I did really enjoy. I want to see him be a tactical deliberate menace to one person in specific again idk, that's part of why I do kinda agree that he works better as an antagonist than a protagonist - which it should be noted does not mean I think he works better as a villain necessarily, his ethics aren't what matter here - he's just had his best moments as the schemer, and it's hard to have a protagonist schemer even when you make them ethically the good guy.

I hope you enjoyed my nattering on about Jason's weapons :D thank ye again for ask!

[explosionkatsu]

Random Number (Upcoming Series)

Pairing: Adult!Bakugo x F!Reader

Summary:

Bakugo Katsuki's phone beeped as he received a text from an unknown number. Feeling curious about the contents of the message, he unlocked his phone and opened the text to find an unexpected list of grocery items. Perhaps it was a wrong number or maybe someone was playing a prank on him.

Warnings: None. Ya’all know I don't write stuff like that! Haha!

PROLOUGE ————

Y/n had put in a lot of effort throughout the week and was eagerly awaiting her paycheck. She had been looking forward to her evening, filled with relaxation after a long day at work. The idea of having some quality 'me time' was exciting, and she couldn't wait to indulge herself by staying up late and binge-watching her favorite series on Netflix. She had also planned to treat herself to some delicious food, which would only add to the enjoyment of her well-deserved break.

"Hey, Y/n! Do you want to join us for some Shabu-shabu?" Y/n's colleagues asked her.

"That sounds like fun, Mika. But I already have plans for my evening. You know, some 'me-time' would be nice," Y/n replied.

"Haha! Well, you deserve it after this hellish week we've had. You're probably the hardest worker here," Mika responded playfully.

"Oh, shut it. Haha. Well, I'll be off now! Say hi to everyone for me and have fun with the team!" Y/n giggled as she picked up her bag and waved goodbye to her colleagues.

As soon as Y/n got out of the building, she rushed to the nearest cash dispenser and withdrew a good amount of money from her account to pay her bills and buy groceries for the month. She had worked overtime the previous week, and she felt pleased that her hard work had paid off.

Humming happily, she walked towards the supermarket, enjoying the cool breeze of the night. When she reached the store, she fished her grocery list out of her bag, only to realize that it was missing.

Panic set in, and Y/n started to rummage through her bag in search of the list. She even planned on flipping her bag upside down, but it was nowhere to be found.

Frustrated, Y/n muttered under her breath, "It's not here. I must have left it at home." She pondered for a moment about what to do next. She could either go back home to get the list or try to remember the items she needed to buy.

Finally, Y/n decided to use her phone to make a list of the things she needed to buy. She hoped that she could remember most of the items, but she knew that she might forget some of them. She sighed and muttered to herself, "Hopefully, I still remember some of it."

Without wasting any time, Y/n pulled out her phone and opened the messages app instead of the notes. She swiftly listed all the items she required and then hit the send button. However, she immediately noticed that she had left the contact details empty. Not wanting to waste any more time, she quickly typed in her number and hit send again. Unbeknownst to her, the last digit of her number was incorrect.

—

"Hey Bakugo, I'm so pumped up! Our dine-out is going to be epic!" Kirishima exclaimed with unbridled enthusiasm as he met up with a scowling Bakugo, who was already bundled up in a thick scarf to protect himself from the chilly weather.

“I'd rather spend time alone than be with you idiots,” Bakugo said under his scarf.

“Aw, come on bro. We’ve rarely got this chance,” Kirishima insisted. “Besides, today is the only day we’re all free!”

“Tsk.” Bakugou only said in response.

As they started walking, there was a sudden sound of "ding" emanating from Bakugo's device which caught their attention.

“You should check that out. It's probably something important,” Kirishima pointed out and continued walking.

“For god’s sake," Bakugo said with a hint of frustration evident in his voice, as he reached for his phone in his pocket.

Bakugo's eyes widened in disbelief as he read the message. "What the hell?" he blurted out, scanning the text again. His mind raced as he tried to make sense of it. Could this be some kind of sick joke? “Is this a prank?”

Kirishima glanced at Bakugo's phone and asked, "What's up, bro?" After reading the message, he snickered and said, "I told you it's important. And let me tell you, strawberry milk is amazing. Don't be shy about enjoying it." He teased.

Bakugo's voice boomed with anger as he shouted, "Shut the hell up, Shitty hair!" His outburst drew the attention of everyone in the vicinity, causing them to turn and stare at the source of the commotion.

“A-ah! Sorry about that! That's just nothing!” Kirishima apologetically said to the people looking at them. “Bakugo! Keep it down will ya!”

"Whoever this person is, is screwed!" Bakugo exclaimed, clenching his jaw.

“Hey, hold on a minute. What if that person is an elderly woman who’s unfamiliar with using phones?" Kirishima suggested. "Also, have you thought about how it might affect your reputation if she finds out you're Dynamight? Think about this carefully, man.”

“Tsch!” Kirishima's reaction might seem excessive, but he has a point. It's best to just let it be.

————

Upcoming series? Does that mean sluggish uploads again? Haha. As you all know, the series I'm currently working on is coming to an end. Only two chapters more. 👀

See you again in my next series! 😘

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

hi there! love your work! i recently had a prof say that all zoos (USA) are bad (so we shouldn't support them) and sanctuaries are better because using animals for entertainment is morally wrong, most zoo profits dont go to conservation, and conservation efforts are bandaid solutions to capitalism destroying animal habitats, so the real solution is to return the land to indigenous stewards to manage/rewild. i didn't disagree with the last bit, but the argument as a whole felt a little off to me for a reason i couldnt put my finger on. am i off base here? just feeling really unsure about the whole thing.

You're not wrong! There's a mix of reality and personal opinions in those statements, and it's definitely something worth critically examining. A quick fact-check of what they said for you:

All US zoos are bad

There's a massive range of quality of zoological facilities within the US (and around the world). Some are stellar and some are not, and it's really just not accurate to lump them all under the same umbrella for almost any purpose. Unless, of course, your issue isn't with animal welfare, and it's philosophical, which is what it sound like in #2...

2. Using animals for entertainment is morally wrong.

This is one of my favorite things to talk about w/r/t how we exhibit animals. Entertainment has become equated with exploitation and implicit low welfare in the last couple decades, and so you get a lot of people saying using animals for entertainment is wrong. But those same folk will say that they enjoy seeing animals in other contexts, and they think that's okay. Where's the line between enjoying something and being entertained by it? What makes something one and not the other? Also, we know that people learn better from from situations which are enjoyable/entertaining - even just a fun teacher who jokes around vs a dry lecture - so how can that only be a problem when it's used to make viewing animals more impactful? I wrote a whole piece on this a while back (linked here) if you want to dig into this more. Some zoos (and accrediting groups) are shying away from "entertainment" type branding - shows are demos now, for instance - and others are leaning into "edutainment" that's done with good welfare and communicates actual education messaging. In short, this is a personal philosophical belief, and you're right to question if you agree. (Even if you decide you do think that too! It's always good to question why someone is arguing what they believe about animal use, and how they came to believe it).

3. Sanctuaries are better than zoos.

There's two reasons I think he's misinformed here. First, almost all exotic animal sanctuaries in the US are licensed exhibitors - just like zoos! I only know of a couple that don't exhibit to the public at all. It's an important part of their revenue stream, because gate take helps support paying for animal care. Also anything you see from a sanctuary on Youtube, Facebook, or TikTok? Also exhibition! They just message about it differently, and often have a different ethos about how they exhibit (e.g. tours to reduce stress instead of letting people wander, doing conservation or rescue messaging instead of just display). Second... look, most people assume that the word "sanctuary" means a facility is intrinsically more ethical than a zoo, and therefore they must be a good place. In reality, many sanctuaries get much less public and regulatory scrutiny (at the state level) than most zoos. There are good sanctuaries out there, but there are also sanctuaries where stuff goes on that would absolutely be unacceptable at zoos, and it slides because of the assumption that sanctuaries are inherently more moral and ethical and care for their animals better.

4. Most zoo profits don't go to conservation

This is correct! Direct conservation funding is often a small part of the money a zoo makes. However, that's because money goes to things like facility maintenance, new construction, paying salaries, etc. If zoos put all the money they made back into conservation programs, practically, they wouldn't have the funding to continue to operate. The question that I'd suggest asking instead is "where are they putting money into conservation" and "are they doing conservation work or just throwing money at something to display the logo of the program." Also, it's worth keeping in mind that a lot of what zoos do to support conservation isn't necessarily financial. Many facilities contribute "in-kind", by doing things like sending staff to assist with programs or teach specific skills, or by donating things like vehicles and equipment. Research zoos do also seriously contributes to in-situ programs, and breeding programs for re-introduction like the scimitar-horned oryx and the black-footed ferret are also conservation. Could many of the big urban facilities with huge budgets do more? Yes. But looking just at dollars spent on conservation programs is disingenuous and inaccurate.

5. Conservation efforts are band-aid solutions to capitalism destroying habitats / Returning the land to indigenous peoples to manage/rewild is the real solution to conservation issues

This is a little outside my scope so I'm going to only address the part that I know. First off, like, there's no One True Answer to conservation issues. That's reductionist and inaccurate. Conservation really is a human issue, though, and it often has to involve solving human problems that lead to negative results for animals. There's definitely an issue with what some people call "parachute conservation" where Westerners swoop in and try to tell people living in range countries how to best manage their animals and natural resources without recognizing their perspectives, needs, or what drives their behavior towards those animals. That's not just a zoo issue - that's an issue with a ton of traditional Western conservation work. And there is progress towards fixing it! In the zoo world, I've been very impressed with the work out of The Living Desert, where their conservation people spend a lot of time overseas teaching people in range countries to evaluate and improve their own conservation programs, so they can assess efficacy and also have data to apply for grants, etc. They provide support when asked, rather than trying to tell people who live with these animals regularly what to do. One of my favorite programs that TLD collaborates with (they don't try to run it!) is a group called the Black Mambas that reduces poaching by supporting entire communities to reduce the desperation for food/income, educating kids about animals, and running all-female patrols staffed by community members.

Overall, it sounds like your professor's view of zoos is really informed by their personal moral perspective, and possibly reinforced by a lot of the misinformation / misleading messaging that exists about the industry and about conservation work. They do have some specifics right, but not necessarily the context to inform why things are like that. It was a good catch to question the mix of information and approach it critically.

[st4rgzer]

“hi beautiful! i could totally do this, but what scenario did you have in mind? or just headcannons?” Oh! Sorry I meant this would be headcanons, like dating headcanons?

✐ᝰ. BENOFTHEWEEK HEADCANNONS artist ytber!reader ✐ᝰ.

✎ first of all, this man would absolutely be so up to giving you anything you need. need art supplies? already going to the store, art block? is already giving you ideas and helping you in every way he knows how to. he admires you so much and supports your creativity and job with nearly as much passion as you do.

✎ he’d be so happy to appear in one of your videos, for example, animating your first ever date or how you guys met. if you’re comfortable with it, he’s comfortable with it.

✎ sometimes when you get artists block he drives you places so you can get inspiration, im talking 3 hour road trips to the most beautiful places ever. (he’d definitely use it as an excuse to just spend time with you in these places)

✎ he loves submitting commissions even though you’d paint for him whenever for free, but he likes it when he can support you and your art. he’d 100% be sneaky with it like submitting with a different name so you couldn’t say no.

✎ one of his favourite things to do is shout you out in his videos, either if it’s you editing a part of his video, appearing in it, or if it’s even just a clip of him sharing something you did recently and talking about you.

✎ he’d gift you things randomly that he thinks would help you, like new brushes, pencils, acrylics, oil paints, quality sketchbooks, art of- books, canvases, wrist pads, new apple pencil nibs, art dice, etc. just so he can see how your face lights up when you receive these.

✎ when you published your own comic he was so proud of you, the fact that you created such a thing, he was so extremely happy for you. he was the first one to buy a copy and he finished it in less than a day, praising you endlessly about how good it was. you would surely have a character that resembles him and the fact that he was included in such an important thing made his heart flutter.

✎ he would absolutely love to voice any of your animations, and would be amazed when he saw the video and how funny it was to see a little caricature aligned with his voice.

✎ when you panicked or overworked yourself, and whenever the pressure got to you, he would be there for you as an anchor. he’d hold you and listen to every one of your worries, doing the best he could to soothe you and give you advice. he’d understand what you’re going through as a big youtubers himself, and recommend the things that helped him when he felt that way.

✎ you guys would make videos to display your artistic abilities, of which he had little to none, so you’d end up making a masterpiece and half of his painting would end up in his face as traces of paint.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

a/n: ty for requesting!! this was really fun to write, i hope you liked it!🫶🏼

[sweetestpopcorn]

Hello!! I know that aside from Daemon/Rhaenyra, you are a fan of Baelon/Alyssa. I just wanted to ask, what is your opinion on Viserra, or on the whole Viserra seducing Baelon after Alyssa’s death? Do you think Baelon might have been able to save Viserra from her fate if he had agreed to marry her (even if he didn’t love her)? What is your opinion on this pair?

Hi there :)

Yes, after Daemyra Baelon and Alyssa are definitely my favourite Targaryen couple.

About the rest of your ask, I don't think Viserra fans will like my answer, but I don't quite care for Viserra. I have talked about it in the past that I see Saera and Viserra as very shallow characters with almost nothing to them. They were written as mean girls and that's about it, besides being Targaryens and physically very attractive, I don't actually see any redeeming qualities in them.

Saera at least you could argue was sort of funny, in a heartless, sociopathic Cersei kind of way, and I did admire how she later on in life wanted nothing to do with Westeros or the Iron Throne saying she had her own kingdom was a cool moment. But regardless she was cruel, unnecessarily so (e.g., Tom the Turnip anyone?), and worse with someone much weaker than her which also makes her a sort of coward. Like I said she had many sociopathic traits, and her behaviour itself is very congruent with a sociopathic personality type.

Viserra is a bit better in that regard in the sense that she was not needlessly cruel to anyone weaker than her for fun, even if she poked fun at young men who lusted after her, sometimes in quite dangerous ways (e.g., when she dares them to put their heads inside a dragon's mouth, I think the prize was her V card if memory serves right). But like Saera is mean and cold for the sake of being mean and cold, Viserra is ambitious and cold for the sake of being ambitious and cold.

We are both shown and told she wanted power and to be queen and F feelings and all that, but we are never really given a proper reason as to why. I would guess that being child #10 in a very large family would make you starved for attention, likely importance as well, since her only selling point in that family was being the most beautiful of the sisters. It was (VERY) unlikely she would ever be queen, so maybe because of that it became an ambition of hers? There was also something arrogant about her because of her looks, thinking that that would be enough to just give her what she wanted without having to rely on anything else. In that sense she has no depth, what you see is pretty much what you get and neither is very good or particularly compelling.

So, no, I wouldn't want her to marry Baelon, nor for Baelon to be interested in her. In fact, I loved that he wasn't and that after she spoke in such a nasty way about the sister she thought herself so physically superior too that Baelon gave Viserra a cold hard dose of reality of he's Baelon Targaryen, not a failed Baelon like Tywin Lannister.

Sure that some people find love again in life, and I am all for it. But some people aren't like that, and I found a lot of beauty in that aspect of Baelon's character, of how devoted he remained to the memory of his lady with the mismatched eyes. I would have hated for that to be ruined, especially in the name of such an ambitious and empty character like Viserra. If he was to marry her, whatever the reason, he would not be Baelon because that was a central aspect to his character.

All this aside I did feel bad about how Viserra was treated by Alysanne, almost like she was the final boss Alysanne had to defeat. I think this is a great example at times of George's incongruence with how he writers characters in F&B. Pretty much their end is decided so he just does whatever he has to to get there, at times with little regard with what he previously established. Are we supposed to believe that the same Alysanne who still loved and wanted to forgive Saera, even defended her, would be so cold and mean to Viserra? Sorry, I don't find it the least bit believable. Like show us on the doll where Viserra touched you Alysanne. Regardless of her not deserving this or her cruel fate, I still don't really care about Viserra nor think she had any redeeming qualities.

And that is my take.

Thank you for coming to my Tumblr Ted Talk!

Much love to you <3

[wen-kexing-apologist]

I LOVE "AYAKA IS IN LOVE WITH HIROKO" AND THINK EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT

I would just like to take a moment to praise Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko. I am only three episodes in to this show, but it has been so funny, so chaotic, and so undoubtedly queer. With so few GL offerings in the absolute tidal wave of BL that we get each year, we rarely get an opportunity to see what feels like more authentically queer sapphic experiences. Or at least I have. There are moments for sure, there are lovely little shows like Sleep With Me and She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat but if I am honest 23.5 and Chaser Game W were disasters, GAP while consistently fun did drop in quality in the back half, and the majority of other GLs I’ve heard about that have aired recently are genuinely problematic. 

We are almost halfway through this show right now, and I am having the time of my life. This show has had me legitimately cackling in every episode and truly embodies the gay panic of a good ol’ fashion lesbian desperately trying not to misconstrue her colleague’s rather obvious advances.

That said, there are three things that this show has done that have made me fall desperately in love with it:

Hiroko spends so much of her time at the lesbian bar.

Hiroko and Ayaka are horny on main

THEY PUT AN HONEST TO GOD BUTCH IN EPISODE 3

Legitimately, it makes me so so happy that we are getting a story out of Japan where the main character is incredibly aware of and comfortable with her sexuality. This is not a queer discovery show, this is a gays getting on the same page about their feelings show. Learning in, like, Episode 1 that the second Hiroko turned 18 she marched her gay little ass straight to the lesbian bar and has made that Her Spot for (I think) more than a decade. 

She’s an established regular with a bunch of other established regular lesbians friends and that makes me *so* happy. 

Both Hiroko and Ayaka are horny on main in ways that are also so refreshing to me, and the way they play with Hiroko’s own history as a Woman Who Fucks is so fun because it is made so blatantly obvious that she is the pursuer in the majority of the sexual encounters she’s engaged in (and those counts are in the triple digits) so it is really fun seeing her brain absolutely short circuit and any and all suaveness we got to see in the little flashbacks of her times picking up women in the bar just absolutely imploding under the stress of trying to convince herself that this incredibly hot woman that works for her is actually straight and has no idea what she is doing. 

And on the flip side, Ayaka has clearly not had a ton of sexual intimacy with women in the past because we see her being incredibly impersonable and isolated in the flashbacks we get. But now that she is actively pursuing her feelings for Hiroko and desperately trying to make herself known she is clearly very horny and would be DTF at the drop of a hat. It is just so much fun watching her get progressively more annoyed at the fact that she is making it blatantly obvious that she wants to fuck Hiroko and Hiroko is at this point willfully ignoring it because she, and I quote, “doesn’t know how to act without an ulterior motive,” and is trying to make sure she isn’t misunderstanding Ayaka. 

And finally, and this is just a small thing, but in the most recent episode, Hiroko and Ayaka take a business trip together, and Ayaka ends up helping this elder that is having difficulty with some heavy boxes of supplies for their store. AND THE PERSON SHE HELPS IS THE BUTCHEST WOMAN I HAVE SEEN OUT OF ALL THE ASIAN QLS I’VE WATCHED FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. Like we have had mascs, but I am talking the casual inclusion of an elder butch woman, which I have not seen. Hell, I have barely seen older butch lesbians in any media I’ve watched (shout out to Cloudburst) so to see someone just vibing in this show, even if her role is small, is of such monumental importance and makes me feel like this show is made with a queer audience in mind, which is not the case for most of the GLs I’ve watched (at least in my own perception/opinion). 

Anyway, if you are not watching this show you should! It’s readily available on GagaOoLala, the episodes are only 23 minutes long, and there will be a whopping 8 episodes.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for watching a movie as a family without including my dad? Writing it out, I think I know the answer, but this has still been bugging me.

Around Thanksgiving I (30s) visited home. It was also a trip to see for my mom (late 60s) for her birthday, so I was there for a few days longer than a Thanksgiving trip would normally account for. My brother (30s) and his wife (30s) visited for her birthday too. My dad (early 70s) was there as well. They've been married over 30 years. Originally I'd planned to take everybody out to see a movie as a birthday present for my mom...but it turned out there was literally nothing at the theater that my mom was interested in at all. The town is pretty small, and the options were limited. So instead, we started out with a nice dinner, and family board game run-through of a trivia game we all thought we'd have some fun with. My mom ended up winning, which is rare and was not deliberate, and it wrapped the game up way faster than we'd anticipated.

My dad immediately went back into the living room after the game ended, openly a little annoyed that mom had won a trivia game based on something he considers himself the family expert in. He watches old reruns of the show he's seen a million times on a loop every day, and it can be pulling teeth to get him to do anything else. It was just a fluke, but something the rest of us considered a pleasant surprise since none of us had expected she'd win. But he was annoyed. Given that it was still early, Mom suggested we find a movie to watch online, so we could all wind down before bed with something the whole family could enjoy.

Dad said no. Now this feels like important context: I...have a lot of problems with my dad. I love him, but he can be extremely emotionally immature. Downright verbally abusive at times. And very petty. I'm in therapy in no small part due to some of the insecurities he instilled in me over the years. I've worked hard to set basic boundaries with him. He also has multiple medical issues, and I'm pretty sure he has untreated depression and other mental health problems he refuses to acknowledge that contribute to him flying off the handle at a moment's notice. That, combined with the fact that my mom will 100% never, ever leave him, because she was raised in a very specific mindset that she's never been fully able to shake...means my brother and I usually have to grit our teeth when he starts ranting/yelling/complaining during a visit, or we'd just end up ruining the day for our mom. She's done so much for us, and we just wanted her to have a good visit. So, that's what I did for most of the trip. I breathed deep when my dad openly mocked my stutter, and refused to get in a fight about it. I stopped myself from getting visibly upset when he tried to feed my cat table scraps even when I told him the cat needs a special diet. On other days I tried to watch his old shows with him, and ignored the sexist comments he'd make about the female leads, all for the sake of keeping the peace.

But, it was Mom's birthday. And she wanted to watch a movie.

And Dad said no.

He refused to give up his marathon of old westerns from 60 years ago to watch a new movie with his family on the big tv in the living room.

My mom seemed disappointed, so I suggested we watch one on my laptop in the kitchen instead. Without my dad, if he really wanted to watch his show instead. She agreed, and my brother, his wife, my mom and I filed into the kitchen, sat in less-than-comfy chairs, and watched a fantasy heist film that I'd thought they would all enjoy. And they did. My brother was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the movie (I'd already vouched for it being good, none of the others had seen it previously) His wife kept making notes for her dnd campaign. My mom found it hilarious, and liked that some actors from another show she liked were in it.

My dad stayed in the living room, watching his marathon.

Partway through the movie, he came in and asked us what we were watching. We told him, and he passed through the kitchen for something he needed, then said that we were being too loud. More context: the kitchen is right next to the living room, but my dad turns the tv up so loud in there it can get physically painful to be in the room with him. He refuses to get hearing aides, and only recently relented on subtitles. He also has a habit of screaming at anyone who tries to talk for a long time when his shows are on and they're in earshot, even if they're in a different room. We thought he couldn't hear it over his tv, and so when he said something we said sorry and that we'd try to keep it down, but we could already barely hear it through the laptop speakers. We already had subtitles turned on to make sure we didn't miss anything. When we told him that, he got even more annoyed. He asked how we'd like it if he turned the tv up so loud we couldn't understand anything, then proceeded to go into the living room and do just that, just as I was trying to figure out how much more we could lower the volume without losing our whole experience. We called in that we were already turning it down, and he finally turned his volume back down as well. We finished our movie, turning the volume down during action scenes and up during speaking scenes so we could actually hear the dialog. We enjoyed the rest of the film, and then people started getting ready for bed, and my mom went to check on my dad. She told me a few minutes later that he was hurt that we'd watched the movie without him. That he felt left out. I told her that he'd had multiple opportunities to join us, and that is was his choice not to watch with us. And honestly, the fact that he wouldn't give up the real tv for a couple hours so she could have a birthday movie was really upsetting to me.

She still seemed to feel bad that he was left out, and I'm a little worried that he might've sulked for days afterwards, leaving my mom in an even more stressful environment after I left. Am I the asshole for insisting my mom get to watch a movie on her birthday? And would I be the asshole if I told my dad off for what I consider to be extremely selfish behavior?

Also before anyone asks, no, I'm not cutting him off. It's literally impossible to do that without pretty much cutting off my mom as well, and she absolutely doesn't deserve that. And yes, I've offered up my apartment as a place she can stay if she ever needs to. Repeatedly. She hasn't taken me up on it yet.

What are these acronyms?

[tobiasdrake]

Ranma 1/2 episode 3. I can't be the only person who somehow, despite not thinking about this series seriously in a long time, still hears "YAPPAPPA YAPPAPPA II SHAN TEN hashagu koi wa ike no koi" in their head when starting up the reboot series.

Where did you come from? I thought I forgot you.

By contrast, the new OP hasn't grown on me as much. Can't imagine why. It couldn't be that I've heard the new one twice but heard the old one eight billion times over the course of three decades, such that any new music in its place is going to inherently sound like an imposter.

Nah, it's probably just that the song isn't good. That's a reasonable thing to conclude.

(In seriousness, new OP is fun.)

Uhhhhh, part 1 because I had a lot to say about Nabiki, my fave from back in the day who gets to be in the spotlight for the first time this episode.

Speaking of the OP, this is my favorite shot.

I don't know what it is exactly but every time I see this, there is a haunted look in Ranma's eyes. I don't think that's on purpose. I think he's just supposed to look like he's happily jogging.

But I see a thousand-yard stare on this boy. The look of a person who has seen things that can never be unseen.

Which.

Is fair.

For Ranma.

Rejected so hard. This is a misunderstanding but it's still hilarious how quickly Nabiki nopes the fuck out of this shit.

To be fair, she's seen the way Kuno treats the women he's interested in. If I were her, I would want no part of that.

Ironically enough, Nabiki/Kuno is IIRC the most popular ship for both of these characters. Though, given that being physically strong enough to beat the shit out of him at martial arts is such an important quality to Kuno, I'm not sure he and Nabiki are really compatible.

Makes perfect sense from Nabiki's perspective but honestly I'm pretty sure she's more likely to Black Widow him for his wealth than fall in love with him sincerely.

So begins Nabiki's career of being the absolute worst person in Ranma's life, in a cast that includes multiple people attempting to murder him. Nabiki is something far worse than a shonen rival. Worse than a romantic rival. Worse than a shonen rival who wants to surpass you at romancing your love interest.

She's a capitalist. And she has found a saleable product.

(My characters are always the absolute worst. Goddammit, Nabiki.)

There's something really interesting in Nabiki's reaction to that remark. Like. She gets back into gear pretty quickly after this moment.

But.

Just for a moment.

She had a visceral, kneejerk reaction of shock and disgust at the realization that Kuno was planning on pursuing Ranma and Akane at the same time.

Just for a moment, she had an emotional reaction strong enough to break her poker face.

I mean, she's still going to profit off it. She is a capitalist after all.

But it happened. That brief glimpse into the humanity underneath the cash register was there.

For those unaware of yen to dollar exchange rates, she's charging about $20 for Ranma's photos. Akane's are about $27. So we can actually quantify her feelings for Akane. She loves her sister exactly $7 more than a stranger she met a few days ago.

Don't take it personally. It's just business.

(I felt really gross saying that. Probably because it was really gross. In seriousness, Nabiki is an active participant in Akane's harassment, without Akane's knowledge.)

That said, she does still try to help this situation once she's done cashing in on violations of Ranma and Akane's privacy.

It doesn't take because Kuno aggressively refuses to learn the truth about the Pig-Tailed Girl throughout the series lest it compromise his delusions. But she does try. There seems like there's basically no reason for her to do this except to burst Kuno's bubble.

...except then she also does this when she realizes Kuno didn't get it.

She tried to burst Kuno's bubble and it didn't work so now she's making it worse instead. At this point, it's clear that Nabiki's just starting shit for funsies. She is the show's trickster. Her allegiances are to money and entertainment.

She was expecting a hilarious blowout the one way and when she didn't get it, she went a different route. Goddammit, Nabiki.

Of course, her troll antics eventually blow up in her face when they out her capitalist antics.

But she never really has to face any sort of consequences for it. Right when it seems like things are about to turn against her...

Ranma, rather than presenting a united front against their mutual abuser, decides to open his fucking mouth and insult Akane instead.

This is how capitalists win. They skate home with all the money and no comeuppance while their victims pick each apart.

[voidheartkisses]

Okay hello hi hello,

First off you're amazing and a gift to the world, I wish I had even half your talent. Your last piece blew my mind and I just HAD to ask,

How long have you been drawing/painting for? I imagine forever but I'm always curious how long it takes before artists reach these sorts of levels where it evolves into full-scale projects as opposed to smaller hobbyist crafts. There are so many beautiful art pieces on this platform as a whole and I'm constantly baffled by it all

Sorry if my excitement is off-putting that piece is heavenly and my mind is blown. Hope you're doing well!

Hi and thank you! That's a good question

So I've been drawing since I was born, but I've been drawing digitally for 8 years. I think in the very beginning most artists should just focus on having fun, you'll basically improve by default

after a while you will want to improve. It will be slow, but this is the stage where you'll recognize what you need work on

I'd say the turning point is when you've finally gotten far enough into your art journey without any sort of formal training (ie, a lot of artists dont learn the basics/fundamentals first, which is fine since most of us start as hobbyists) But I think learning them really did help me a lot. You start to think more about how light and shadow lays, depth, 3D objects, and more.

I highly recommend watching this video about levels of art, it's been really helpful and motivating to me throughout the years

This part is going to be long so you don't have to read it but I just wanna give my personal journey and how I got to now if anyone thinks it'll be helpful:

(2017) With digital art, I started off on ms paint and occasionally ibis paint x. Mostly using anime deviantart bases (EMBARRASSING), but after a while I developed my own style based on the people I was inspired by at the time, I was just happy to draw and didn't care much about improving at this time

(2019) The people you look up to artistically will naturally change over time (and thats okay), after a while I decided to switch to firealpaca, where I guess I got more invested on how light and shadows work, as well as making my characters look a bit more natural and develop my own style, your preference in aesthetic may also change over time which is noticeable here

(2021) Eventually, I began to lean more into semirealism (which isn't everyones preference and thats okay! realism shouldn't be the ultimate end goal of art) but I really enjoyed making stylized characters look 3D and in natural looking environments, since I felt it spoke to my own experiences, a lot of artists draw from real life experiences. I focused more on anatomy at this time as well as textures and environments, composition also became a big deal for me at this time, as well as wanting to use different colors

(2024) The change from LINEART to DIGITAL PAINTING in 2022 was the hardest for me once I switched to clip studio paint, it was basically like starting all over and I was so lost. I had a lot to figure out on my own but I knew it was a transition I had to make to draw the kind of art I wanted. But I began to study and take more things into consideration, I didn't like my art so I simply kept going "I can do better", learning from my previous mistakes and slowly making something I would be more satisfied with. At this point art felt more like "projects" then anything, because I wanted to make pieces that were of quality and had time and care put into each of them, sure it meant there was no longer much quantity. but hey that's what my smaller Cult of the Lamb lineart drawings are for!! 💙

I'm still growing and I definitely have a long way to go, but I am very proud of my progress this year, and I'll continue to grow until I'm satisfied (haha im stubborn) I also want to develop my secondary lineart style that I do when I'm not painting, since I feel that is important too

in short; time, practice, dedication, and passion are the most important, draw what you love above all else because it will be your drive to keep going, staying motivated was the most important for me

Sorry for the long post 😭

[hetalian-veteran]

Art Styles I Personally Think the Hetalia Characters Looked Their Best In (and Why) Part 2

Link to Part 1, Link to Part 3

Please note that I am referring to the show and not the webcomic. This is primarily because I didn't always have access to the webcomic and thus the show is what I've always been most familiar with. I will also refrain from talking about characters that have only appeared in one season.

Also, please keep in mind that these are just my opinions. And if you have any different ideas of what designs looked better, that's totally okay. At the end of the day, I'm just here to have fun.

America: Seasons 1-4

It was kind of hard to choose which design was best for America, seeing as they are all very similar to one another while also having different qualities that I liked. But I ultimately settled on the one from the first four seasons. I adore the WWII bomber jacket, as well as how the character in general was animated back then. Not to mention that the older art style just fits him so well. A lot of Americans have an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" attitude about things, so I find it fitting that, at least in my opinion, this also works for aph America. He looks great everywhere else, but I won't deny I have a nostalgia for the original. This was an exceptionally close tie with his design for season 5. Not to mention I once drew aph America fanart for an art project in middle school and got an A on it.

England: Season 5

Okay, I'm gonna be real here. This all came down to the eyebrows. Well, not entirely, but it definitely played a large part. I never had a problem with England's design in seasons 1-4, but those eyebrows though. They were so distracting. I understand wanting to give characters a prominent feature that makes you go, "Yep this is (insert character here)." But I think England's eyebrows were too overdone in the previous seasons. However, I also believe they were far too thin and lightened up in seasons 6-7. Season 5 had a good balance. Not too thick but not too thin. Also, I feel like his facial structure and design made him look kinda weird in season 7.

China: Season 5

So... I'm gonna be honest here. All of the other designs for China make him look like a young girl to me. Yes, he still looks sorta feminine in season 5, but not like he appears in seasons 1-4 and 6-7. In season 5 he actually looks more like an adult man to me. Not to mention his hair. Because holy crap that is some of the most beautiful hair I have ever seen put to animation

Russia: Season 6

This was a close tie between all his designs, but it ultimately came down the hair. Yes, I know, I talk about the characters hair a lot. But that really was the deciding factor for Russia. All his designs look great in that the long coat and vertical lines throughout give me the impression of a Russian nesting doll. Now, whether that was intentional on Hima's part or not, I cannot say. But it's a cool detail that I always notice whenever I see him. When it comes to his season 6 design, I like not only how innocent he looks (which is an important part of the design Hima intended from the beginning), but that his hair has some more fun detail too it. It looks so soft and fluffy, not like the previous designs that made it look like he had water dumped on his head.

France: Season 5

What can I say about this design that hasn't been said already? The only other character who had a bigger glow-up than France was Spain (who you can see my opinions on in a previous post). Literally everything here is an upgrade from his design through seasons 1-4. His hair looks so silky and soft, not like that yellow plastic we had earlier. Also, the hair ribbon tying it back looks so elegant and refined, fitting perfectly with the character. I also love the small detail of the ribbon being the same color of his eyes. It's a nice touch. His outfits this season are great as well. They are very simple, but still elegant, with soft, curved lines and balancing both warm and cool colors. Especially in his outfit during the Joan of Arc episode.

Canada: Season 5

I think I'm starting to have a favorite season in terms of character designs here. Canada just looks his cutest here, primarily because of his outfits. He has one of the most adorable and cozy wardrobes this season, and I want to raid this man's entire closet. I love the flannels and cozy jackets and hoodies that he has. As someone who grew up most of her life in northwest Montana (which, if you ask the rest of the US, is basically just lower Canada), I think I have to be a little biased here. Canada's design gives me the feeling of home in a way, and this is definitely a wardrobe that I embrace for a time growing up.

Austria: Seasons 1-4

The hair curl in his cowlick hits harder here, just getting that out of the way. There's more of a curl to it, which is more reflective of Himaruya's art style. And even though his wardrobe in the latter seasons is great, this one all around looks better to me. I like the royal blue lined with the deep red. And the cravat is just a fabulous detail that I love. Now that I think about it, everything about this design just feels very Himaruya. Like, this is one of his best character designs. There's also the placement of the mole on the bottom right-hand side of his face. In other designs, it's not as prominent. But here it's easier to see. I feel like it makes the design all the more unique.

Hungary: Seasons 1-4

THIS. This design for aph Hungary is top tier, and nobody can convince me otherwise. Something that has always intrigued me about Hungary is that she was raised primarily around men. So much so to the point where she saw herself as one growing up. But when she got older and realized she was actually a woman, she ended up adopting more feminine clothing and characteristics. Aph Hungary is a female character who balances both feminine and masculine traits. And her design from seasons 1-4 emulate this balance perfectly. Her long hair is a pale brown color, and her eyes a dark green. Unlike later seasons where she's given long, shiny, elegant hair and sparkling eyes. She's often found wearing either military uniforms or pretty dresses. We even see the evolution of her fashion from child to adult, where she goes from wearing her hair shorter to wearing it longer and with a flower. Her design encapsulates the idea that, yes, she is a woman. Yes, she is feminine. But at the same time, this is someone who has seen war and battle. (I might have to do a separate post about Hungary, because her design and character are honestly fascinating).

[thecheekyblog]

How to invest into yourself

In the past 15 years, there as been so many tools and new age techniques to change yourself. All of them more and more complex than the one before. Either it is weird diet, or wall Pilates, there will always be new ways to improve yourself.

However, i had to look back into old traditional beauty tips that have proven effective and helpful. The beauty of those tips is that most of them can be done at home at a very low cost which i love.

So here is a list of things that i do to invest in myself.

Let’s start by the physical investement.

The biggest investment i did was with my teeth. I did Invisalign and now i have a million dollar smile. I understand that teeth are expensive but if you have a chance to do so, it is a long term change that you will not regret. Also Try to go to the dentist at least once a year for a clean up.

My new smile actually even changed my face and i love it.

If you cannot do invinsalign, you can definitely ensure that your teeth are white at all times. I used white strip ( the best one is crest Hollywood white stripe ) with whiting toothpaste! Do it twice a week and within a month your smile will look amazing.

After investing in my teeth, it came time to take care of my skin.

I needed to update my skin care but honestly , with time I realize that the real trick was to be constant and have a simple routine that is easy to follow. It is important to have good product but if you are not committed to the routine there is no point into investing in pricey skincare.

You need to start by understanding what kind of skin you have and base on that RESEARCH the type of product that will work for it.

I double wash my face, than toner, serum, moisturizer than face oil. While my face still look like a glazed doughnut, I will gua sha the fuck out of my face and luvvs Gua sha keeps my skin tight and young. So do not sleep on that.

I not only take face of my face skin but also my whole entire body. I will turn my bathroom into a spa once a week and do a good hammam session to my self. I will take a warm bath for a good 20min just to make sure that the scrubbing is smooth sailing. I would use Moroccan black soap to exfoliate my body. After the exfoliation, i would be taking a warm shower and moisturized my skin with natural shea butter. If you live in Canada, you can find great one at your local Marshall with body oil.

Making sure that i look good, i started getting those cutes fits that would make me feel like that girl, invest in quality product because i now wanted the best of the best for myself. I don’t mean to break a bag but definitely not being cheap with my self. So instead of being the cheapest option, let’s say i will be looking into things that match my budget but still are good. I will take more time researching for things instead of just getting the product that was just cheap.

There will be always many option of the same things so just taking an extra sec to look into those options is you investing into yourself. You cannot be the best version of yourself by doing the same thing and buying the same thing as before. You wont change by doing the same!

Now let’s talk about investing to our mental and confidence!

It all fun and game to look good but if you do feel good about yourself. All of this will be worth nothing.

If you can afford it and if needed, talking to a professional or life coach can be life changing. Learning new skills and making yourself some goals will build your confidence so fast.

Something that really help me feel better about myself was podcast. I would listen to a shit ton of self improvement podcast and it really help me see things differently and broaden my perspective on life. READING too was game changer. So far, since the beginning of this year, i have read 4 books so far and reading my 5th right now. I never felt so smart ! But you know what i mean. Keep learning , reading , journaling , it will keep your brain sharp!

Honestly the best kind of investment you can do for yourself is to invest TIME INTO YOURSELF. Whatever you decide to do, take time doing. Make time when you do your skin care, make time when you talk to yourself, make time for your workout, shopping, hair care, body care.

Just invest time into everything you do. Every time you will try to cheat and go the easy way, you will never win. YOU ARE REBUILDING YOURSELF AND IT WILL TAKE TIME!

Invest time into your budget, finance and you will be able to reach your goals!

Believe me when i say that i am a living proof of investing time into yourself will change/better the person that you are. The more i worked on my self the more i became the woman of my dream and I know you can do it too.

Xoxo cheeky

[sensei-venus]

Um um um what about one where Jacob and Xolo have actress!reader on their podcast and they are just talking about acting but Jacob stares at her thebwhole time and gushes about her roles she's done before and Xolo teases him for "fanboying" over and having a crush on her?

(Unedited) (No Tags)

Reader really couldn't believe that out of all people Xolo and Jacob would be asking her to be on their podcast.

She originally met Xolo for a quick moment on a big red carpet event. It was months back and it was only for a split second. She had been seated at a table next to his for the dinner part of the event. They had simply said hi and that evolved into a quick conversation before the show started.

A week later he was sending her a DM though Insta a pretty normal conversation compared to some of the other weird messages she has gotten. He just made small talk and asked some general questions. It wasn't long into their small friendship that he asked the odd question.

“Would you be cool coming into the podcast with me and Jacob? As a guest start?”

She found it a little odd but didn't see a problem with it.

Sitting up in the middle of the night in her bed scrolling along. Her eyes reread the message over again to make sure she was actually seeing it right. Thinking it over the idea did sound kinda fun. She had done interviews before of course but never a podcast. It could be kinda fun and she would also be able to hang out with what she was sure of was a good friend. With the tap of a finger she sent a message agreeing to meet up and appear on the podcast the following month.

“Uh Reader are you in there? You okay?” Xolo’s voice broke her out of the small flashback she was having. Gathering her thoughts she nodded before looking over to the tanned man. He grinned as he started to walk into the small building. She quickly fell beside him as they made their way inside. Xolo’s smooth voice rang out “I'm so excited that you actually agreed to come on the podcast. I was kinda scared you wouldn't want to.” Reader laughed a little “Oh come on I couldn't pass up this fun experience! And plus this gives us a reason to actually meet up again, in person.” at that a switch seemed to flip on his brain.

His eyes widened for a moment as if he finally remembered something important “Oh yeah! I totally forgot that the last time we actually saw each other was when we were at that award event.” Reader nodded.

After walking around a few hallways they finally seemed to find the right door.

Before Xolo opened the door all they way he whispered “Dude Jacob is so excited to actually meet you so don't freak out if he's a little weird at first.” Reader raised a brow at him but before she could say something Xolo was pushing the door open. Walking in they were met with a pretty clean and comfortable room. It wasn't the usual set but it was very similar. The vibe was warm and friendly. A splash of oranges and reds filled the room in different things. Fuzzy red bean bags sat on the floor which had a amazing orange and red run underneath.

A few mics were laid around the room as well. A huge set of high-quality and expensive camera equipment. She could only guess that most of the other stuff behind the camera was their streaming equipment. Besides all of that stuff along with a few detective pieces, that was all the room had inside it.

Except for the person sitting in one of the chairs scrolling on his phone before looking up at them. Jacob grinned and shot up from his chair, throwing his phone back into the seat before walking over to them.

“Yo!! Man, you made it right on time I was just about to text you.” he gave the other guy a small side hug. Xolo laughed at his excitement saying “Yeah it's no big deal, I was just waiting for Reader to get here. I wanted to make sure she was able to find her way here. Didn't want her getting lost or anything, plus it gave up a minute to talk.” Jacob only blinked at him. His grin disappeared and was pulled into more of a small smile with a hint of flatness. The look made Reader want to say something but the words caught in her throat.

She had never meet Jacob before and almost all of what she knew about him was from Xolo. Colo talked about him quiet a bit in their texts to each other. It was pretty normals seeing as the two where such good friends and had been on the same show and set for so long now. Their friendship seemed sweet. She couldn't deny that in some of her free time she had sat down and watched a few interview clips of the two friends together. Their friendship was strong and she loved that for them.

Seeing Jacob in person was a whole new experience for her. She didn't exactly expect to feel what she was now feeling. Her cheeks heated up a little at the new feeling of closeness between them.

Jacob was both cute and hot all at once. He was extremely attractive up close and personal. Maybe it was just different then looking at him in some pictures or in a few videos online. Seeing him up close made her see a lot more. His eyes, his nose, ears and brows. All of those stuck out to her in a good way.

In some way her mind tried to rip those thoughts from her consciousness.

Two sets of eyes were on her and for once she felt a little nervous.

In a weak attempt to get the attention off of her for a moment she interjected into their conversation “So are you guys ready to sit down and record this thing?” both boys grinned at her and nodded.

—————————————————————-

Reader couldn't stop laughing at the boys and their silly games. The two were constantly cracking jokes throughout the stream. Every weird little comment and joke had her stomach twisting up in laughter. She had to cover her face for a minute as they all busted out laughing at something Jacob said a moment before.

The laughter slowly died down and soon they were all sitting in a nice calm atmosphere.

“So Reader now that we are getting into this, what has been your favorite role so far?” Xolo asked. Reader gave a small hum before thinking back to all of her past film roles. One of her favorites came to mind but before she could say it Jacob was blurting out his own answer.

“Mine had to be your character Missy from Sweet Dreams with Love. Amazing acting on your part and you pulled it off perfectly. I watched it like fine times, it's one of my favorite movies too.” his voice filled with a hint of excitement. Readers fave heated up a little bit. That was such a old movie that she had stared in. It was actually one of the first gigs she ever got.

Xolo leaned over in his chair a little “Oh so you know some of Reader's work then?” he said into the mic.

Jacob snorted saying “Yeah, Sweet Dreams with Love, Voice from Above, Ran Faster, She Sleeps at Dawn. I even watched that one show, Meet me at Freddy's that she was in for a while.” his voice started ti get a little more pitched as he went on “Her character type that she plays is just so good, and she plays them perfectly in my opinion. When I hear she's in something new I always just hope she's playing the same character type because it fits her as an actress so perfectly.” he sat back in his seat.

Readers face felt like it was now on fire with what she had just heard.

She couldn't believe that Jacob was a fan of her work like that. Hearing him talk about her and even the work she had been in made her feel all bubbly inside. She didn't expect him to name so many movies and tv shows. A feeling of warmth sped through her chest at the new information.

Xolo laughed loudly while putting his hands up “Wow okay so apparently our boi Jacob might just be a super fan guys. I'm learning something every day with this guy.”

“Don't make it sound weird man-”

“No no for Reader’s sake I will stop before you start fanboying again. You might start drooling on her or something, or worst try and hunp her leg in the studio. I don't want to see that and I doubt out views do either.” Xolo says pointing at the camera with a smirk. Jacob slumps back with slightly pink cheeks. His eyes rolling as he looks away from them for a split second. He's right back to his regular self only seconds later, cracking a joke not even a minute latter and making them laugh.

The rest of the show is spent talking and joking, having a good conversation about Reader's life and career.

But all that talking doesn't stop Reader from feeling all warm. Her eyes strayed from Xolo and the camera a bit too much. Instead they found their way to Jacob. Watching every slight movement he made. Like her brain was taking notes for something later. She didn't know why but the more she looked at him the more she questioned him.

She wanted to know more about him. What he liked and didn't. What his hobbies where and his favorite places to go.

She wanted to know if he really did like her characters.

Because if he truly did, then he would like her seeing as almost all of her characters were almost always tailored to herself. Every character that she ever tried to audition for was similar to her in some way. Her one flaw in acting was not being able to play characters she couldn't really relate to or channel. It was just one of her quirks.

Reader didn't really remember when the podcast ended but soon enough it was just her and Jacob left in the room.

Colo had already taken off after the stream had ended and he claimed to be going home to work on editing some stuff with it. This left her and Jacob alone. They cleaned up a bit before heading out together. The walk to the parking lot was a bit quiet. It was almost as if both of them were a bit embarrassed by what had just taken place inside. They walked side by side as they reached the main part of the lot. The silent was there and caused Reader to flake a little. Any thoughts of asking him about a thing faded. She realized that this was just a one time thing and the chance that Jacob would try to contact her again was-

“Hey so I hope me…sating all of that stuff on stream didn't creep you out. I guess I just get really passionate sometimes. I really do like your movies.” Jacob said while looking over to her. His face was serious, not like the humorous grin he was wearing almost the whole stream.

“No no! I'm actually happy that you like my work so much! It can be hard to tell sometimes if people like my acting or if they just like the movies I'm in. It's nice to know you liked, well me, in them. It's kinda refreshing I guess.” she couldn't help the small part of her that was insecure about her roles. It was hard for an actress like her to know if people liked her work due to her size sometimes. It was a pretty common topic that came up, she hated it. But it was still something she had to deal with.

Jacob seemed to almost understand where she was coming from.

“Yeah no I love you work! You do such an amazing job with your characters. Your also just a really good actress, and well a good person too I guess.” his voice cut out a little at the end. He was definitely hiding something. Reader raised a brow which had the guy every so slightly panicked.

“Okay so maybe I have watched a few interviews you have done and you were real nice. And you're super cute too so I mean you can't blame me for wanting to go watch some videos with you in them, can you?” his eyes meet hers. For a minute they just stood there looking at each other.

She couldn't help but smile at him “No I can't, that's very sweet of you.” Jacob’s look of panic eases at her words.

“Hey um why don't you take this.” Reader fumbled in her pocket for a minute. Feeling around she found what she was looking for. Pulling out a small piece of paper and shoving it into Jacob’s hand. He looks down at his hand in question. Before he could ask her what the paper was she had already started jogging away.

“Just call me okay? Or text me!?” her voice carried through the parking lot before she was out of sight. Jacob could only watch as she ran off. He looked down at his hand and flipped the piece of paper around only to find a business card with her name and number. He smirked to himself before slapping the light card around on his other palm.

He mumbled to himself “And Xolo told me I was being too much of a fanboy, well fanboy got the girls number so…” he laughed a little, giving the empty parking lot one last look before heading home for the day.