#it's literally like. i know some stuff and might be able to help recommend some things

[pumpkinland]

like im not a professional so i know there are things i probably don't know but unless you 1) are a professional 2) have done a lot of research 3) have encountered this exact situation more closely than I have, it is actually very likely that i know more than you on this subject. i am saying I don't know everything not that i know nothing. im saying this is my educated guess, based on background knowledge and experience relevant to the situation, an estimation that i would feel confident enough in trying on myself, not "well i dont really know anything but maybe this would work"

[ironunderstands]

Yapping about why I love Aventio and what I feel makes it a great ship 

(If you hate it I urge you to read this, because you don’t have to agree with me, but I want you to get where Aventio shippers are coming from at least)

I’ve just really wanted to talk about why I love Aventio because the people do not get it like I do and GODDD ITS SO GOOD WHEN DONE CORRECTLY UGHHHHH

Also this is gonna be VERY stream of consciousness I do not have a plan besides dragging you through my brain so enjoy the ride.

I guess the best place to start is the fact that Aventurine and Ratio are my two favorite characters in the game. Like even if they have no interactions with each other ever and might as well be from different pieces of media I would ship them, because I like seeing characters I like interact and the fun police cannot catch me. That’s a really shallow personal reason though and I feel like the rest I have will be able to be appreciated by others.

GOD THE DYNAMIC IS SO GOOD RAAAAAA

Two emotional constipated dumbasses circling around each other like black holes trying desperately to deny and run from their feelings when they have both fallen hard. The lack of acknowledgement of feelings on both ends is TRAGIC and it makes me want to rip my eyes out in a good way, let’s start with Ratio.

Unfortunately my glorious king Ratio has been mischaracterized to hell and back but we will get to that (and the Incorrect Reasons Why People Hate Aventio) later. Instead I will go over his actual character; a deeply insecure, intelligent man who desperately wants the rest of the galaxy to come to the realizations he has long since stumbled upon, but has been so isolated from his peers from such a young age that he’s doomed to fail in literally every social interaction he has and be misunderstood by both the audience in universe and irl (the autistic coding isn’t helping him either).

Ratio is tragically misunderstood again, both in universe and by the audience, which is why it means so much that Aventurine Gets Him. Aventurine pushes his buttons, tears down that literal cold marble facade masking the deeply silly and caring man beneath (this man bathes with rubber duckies in the privacy of his own home 😭), and that scares the shit out of Ratio. People aren’t meant to see through him, Ratio acts rude not just because he believes it’s the best way to help people, and because he believes he himself is mundane and the conclusions they come to should be their own, not his.

No, it’s also because on some level Ratio is afraid to be vulnerable around people. As much as he pretends like it doesn’t affect him, Nous’s rejection has hurt and haunted Ratio for his entire life. And I do mean his entire life, even in high school he had already set up a strict routine for himself, something commented on by his teacher, Ratio has quite literally always been striving for some sort of perfection and the fact that he cannot achieve it kills him.

Moreover, the guy just grew up way too fast, he didn’t have time to develop social skills. We see it in that afformentioned relationship with his teacher, in which they recommend Ratio (who is again in high school) to be moved up to college level stuff and transferred due to his success. He has quite literally never been able to just relax in a environment of his peers, Ratio for some reason we don’t yet know has always been dedicated to constant improvement and that leaves no room for dealing with failure.

On some level, he knows this too, that he can never be perfect. Ratio is part of the Mundanites in the Intelligenica Guild for a reason, he doesn’t just see himself as mediocre because he believes everyone is and that’s ok, but also because he looks down on himself for being too mediocre for the Genius Society, being too mediocre for Nous’s acknowledgement, being too mediocre for anything.

Which is tragic because Ratio is very accomplished and he is very smart, and his character stories aren’t even told from his pov, but rather in the style of documentaries and letters (his professor) and other works on his well acclaimed life. We don’t ever get to see how Ratio really sees himself, just the tiny cracks in his marble facade that let the real man behind the character shine through.

Because that’s what he’s playing 90% of the time, a character. Whether it be at the Herta Space Station in which his real goal was to uproot the researchers blind worship of the Genius Society, or in Penacony in which he plays up the arrogant, narcissistic scholar both people in universe and irl make him out to be, both to serve a goal bigger than himself. 

Sincere moments from Ratio are RARE but god are they beautiful, his conversation from Screwllum in 1.6 and his note to Aventurine in 2.1 will forever haunt me in the best way possible. If you want to understand Ratio as a character, yes read his character stories, but just watch that damn scene with Screwllum it is phenomenal. He cares so much and is so, so bad at expressing it, he drives me nuts, Veritas Ratio the man you are. 

And the thing is, it seems like he’s always been playing a character and doesn’t know where the real him ends anymore so he just sticks to the way people perceive him a lot of the time. Like as a kid he was constantly striving to be the best so he missed a lot of necessary developmental shit, and as an adult he’s a celebrity so it’s hard for him to attach himself to others anyways because society and his students will hound him for it.

And then you throw Aventurine into the mix, and oh boy does shit get interesting.

Veritas Ratio, perfect “unfeeling” Veritas Ratio and the one person who gets him well enough to push all his buttons and expose the vulnerable underbelly he thought he hid so well. On a fundamental level, Ratio understands this, which is why he doesn’t bother with the alabaster head, as pretending the real him is just as unfeeling and uncaring is easier.

So he brushes off Aventurine’s jests as if they are an insult to his very existence, he can’t look in Aventurine’s eyes when he “betrays” him because his poker face would break, he leaves as soon as he’s done talking because lingering would allow the weight of their conversations to sink in. Part of it is because for pretty much all of Penacony, up until the note Ratio gives him, Ratio is acting, trying to play up the role of the arrogant, unfeeling scholar to make Sunday buy the betrayal plan, because to Sunday this behavior is signs of a bad relationship between the two (honestly the fact that the audience also interpreted it this way makes me mad like did yall seriously not pay attention, but also happy because if even the players were fooled that means Sunday buying it is believable). 

However, even if it feeds into his insecurities, Aventurine knows that false facade and loves tearing it down. It’s very telling that the second time we see Ratio really freak out (the first being at Herta Space Station) is at the suggestion that he came to narrate Aventurine’s demo not because of knowledge or respect for the show or whatever, but because he genuinely likes the guy. What makes it even better is that Aventurine is the one who suggested it, and already figured out the excuses Ratio was going to use to deny it. Ratio can fool everyone else in the galaxy, but he cannot fool Aventurine, and on a fundamental level that is what makes their dynamic work, because Ratio knows Aventurine in the exact same way.

Aventurine can shove away people who care about him, out of distrust and fear that they will leave him like his family did. He can believe he’s unloveable and a person so detestable that even the actions he performs in order to stay alive condemn him to hate himself as much as the rest of the galaxy hates him. But, Ratio doesn’t see him that way.

Aventurine doubts his intelligence, if he has really earned anything he’s done and in his voiceline about Ratio, doubting if Ratio even sees him as smart or worthy. However, Ratios voiceline about Aventurine is about how he believes Aventurine is smart and worthy, and that his doubt will be his downfall if he doesn’t come to the realization that he isn’t worthless. 

Ratio knows Aventurine’s one weakness, the one thing that could stop him; himself. That’s why he gives him the note urging him to stay alive and keep on living because ultimately Aventurine will only ever fail if he gives up. And The Note Is Enough, Aventurine walks into the event horizon of a black hole, confident he can return alive on the other side because someone cares about him, BECAUSE RATIO CARES ABOUT HIM, and wants him to live on even if Aventurine doesn’t feel that way towards himself.

In the metaphorical and literal manifestation of the meaningless of the universe, in the face of overwhelming nihility, Aventurine survives because someone loves him, and with that love he’s strong enough to brave even that. 

Even if they can’t admit it out loud, these two deeply, deeply care for one another and trust each other perhaps more than anyone else in the narrative. The betrayal plan would have never worked if there was not mutual trust, Ratio wouldn’t have gone to Penacony in the first place if he didn’t trust Aventurine, and Aventurine wouldn’t have asked him to come if he did not trust him. We don’t just see this trust between Aventurine and Ratio either, and Jade and Topaz both trust him with their cornerstones, but ultimately it’s Ratio who’s physically with him the whole time, risking his life alongside him for the sake of their plan. 

As much as people like to ignore it, lying to the Family members, to Sunday, is extremely dangerous and puts Ratio’s life in danger as much as it does Aventurine’s. Ratio is not an irrational person, he wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t have faith Aventurine would succeed, he would not have done if he didn’t think he would return. They have absolutely faith in one another and it’s beautiful. 

Aventurine’s first constellation is named “Prisoner’s Dilemma” for a reason. A social experiment in which two prisoners are captured and separated, if they sell the other one out and remain silent, they go free but the other remains in jail for 20 years. If they both sell each other out, they get a sentence of 5 years. 

But if they both remain silent, trust the other, they even if they physically can’t communicate and don’t know what the other says, they get the best possible outcome, only one year in jail each. It requires a sacrifice on both ends, they both still have to go to jail, but only for a year, and only if they trust each other completely, as if the other sells them out they will be in jail for 20.

The prisoners dilemma relies completely on trust, and it’s the exact situation Aventurine and Ratio face in the Penacony quests. Aventurines doubts if Ratio’s betrayal was real or not, even if he set it up himself, and Ratio worries about Aventurines survival, if continuing this plan will end well. “You can’t expect a featherless bird to take flight” isn’t just Ratio chastising Sunday, he’s genuinely worried that this plan will put Aventurine at too much of a disadvantage to continue on. 

But they both trust each other, and if just like in the Dilemma neither come out completely unscathed (although it’s much worse on Aventurine’s end), they ultimately achieve their goal. 

God is it sweet and corny in the best way possible 

I want to kill this fandoms perception of stoic, emotionless Ratio because once people realize he’s actually the corniest mf ever is the day I sleep easy. He makes statues of himself doing Jojo poses, he plays chess versus himself, he named himself Veritas (truth), he loves rubber duckies, he literally sits in a bathtub couch, and Aventurine breaths and he gets flustered.

Ratio so deeply silly, chronically corny, it’s a crime he needs to be locked up someone stop him. 

And Aven brings that out of him. His teasing reveals the goofball trying so desperately to disguise himself as a serious scholar. Ratio is very smart of course, but that only makes his silliness better, as you watch this absolute genius of a man behave like a tsundere schoolgirl. 

It’s not like Aventurine is some paragon of seriousness either, he’s the one teasing Ratio, fucking around even in a serious mission. Yeah it’s partly because he wants Sunday to think he’s incompetent, but it’s also because Aventurine genuinely is having fun, enjoying himself before the serious part of the plan kicks in, and the meantime he does that by messing with Ratio.

Their dynamic of Aventurine messing with Ratio, and Ratio trying desperately to pretend like it doesn’t affect him is as hilarious and heartwarming as it is tragic, and that dichotomy is why I love them so much. It’s fun and it hurts so so much because their interactions being this flavor of silly leaves almost no room for the sincerity they both desperately need from one another. 

AND GOD I NEED IT TO HAPPEN. RATIO MENTAL BREAKDOWN SCENE PLEAASEEE LET HIS WALLS CRUMBLE PLEEEEAASEE PLEASE PELADE PLEASEEEE EPLES DOLS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 

They’ve gotten closer and closer and closer and soon something’s gonna snap because they are so close yet so distant and if something doesn’t change the tension is just gonna boil over AND I NEED IT TO HAPPEN. I need more Ratio scenes I need more interactions with him I need him with his guard down I need him to profess out loud that he cares about Aventurine I need him to break please he needs it, it would be so good for him. It doesn’t even have to be from Aventurine, just Ratio snapping and revealing the fucking mess he is under his facade and not being rejected by the people he cares about for it is enough.

I honestly doubt it will happen in the story though, as much as I want it to. Although Aventurine’s character demo somewhat changed my mind against this, I feel like hoyo is like “ok they get the vibe between these two we can move on” and the shippers are left to extrapolate how this relationship would go beyond what it is now. As much as I want a breakdown scene for Ratio in general, it probably wouldn’t happen in a while but devs if you are reading this PLEASEEEE. 

The only time Ratio ever gets slightly out of his element is with Aventurine but I need it to go further because god it would be interesting.

Well I’ve deemed that enough yapping about why I love Aventio (for now 😈) so let’s talk about why people hate the ship and why most of the reasons behind it a fucking stupid. (Massive disclaimer of course you can dislike it it’s just a lot of the “oh it’s a horrible ship and anyone who likes it sucks” shit isn’t grounded in reality in the slightest and I’m tired of the slander)

“Ratio was racist to Aventurine”

Now this is a spicy one because if this post was made in 2.0 I would 100% agree with you (during that time I shipped a non canon version of them in which that did not happen because how dare u do my boy like that hoyo). However 2.1 changed a lot and I mean a lot, and basically reframed the 2.0 quests for everyone.

Essentially, Ratio and Aventurine were both acting in that argument scene, making the things Ratio said to Aventurine not how he really sees him, and actively something Aventurine wanted him to say, so you cannot blame him for what he said. I’m not even joking or exaggerating, retrospectively it quite literally does not make sense if you view it in any other way, and honestly even with just the knowledge of 2.0 the scene doesn’t make sense if played straight, so let’s get to why.

a) Ratio and Racism do not mix fundamentally. Ratio is a person who believes that everyone deserves and education regardless of background, that it is a scholars duty to help others achieve that, and no matter who you are, you are capable of intelligence, learning and becoming the best version of yourself, and that those qualities are just limited to geniuses.

THIS AND RACISM DO NOT MIX. “Oh yeah education and improvement is possible for everyone except this specific group of people for some fucking reason!!” Like not only would this scene being serious contradict Ratios entire character, the man who believes people should not be judged for their educational background judging Aventurine for his educational background (that’s actually what the Sigonian upbringing line meant, it was mistranslated in the EN version)??!?!! Make it make sense.

Moreover, half this perception also come from the fact that hoyo made the incredible writing decision of naming Aventurines planet after a slur for Romani people, so unfortunately literally anytime its name, Sigonia, is brought up you’re essentially saying a slur. It’s much worse in the CN version, in EN it’s not obvious at all, because our version of the slur (it starts with a g and ends with a y that’s all the hints you’re getting), doesn’t look like the version of the slur that the name for Sigonia was derived from, which is partly the source of this misconception as I’m pretty certain most people assumed Ratio (and by extension Sparkle) said a slur elsewhere in the conversation when in reality them referring to Avens ethnicity/background/planet IS the slur.

Anyways terrible writing decisions aside, Ratio supposedly being racist doesn’t just contradict his core motivation, it contradicts his job. He’s a scholar, for fucks sake, and racism is inherently illogical. Mmm yes I’m gonna base my identity around finding truth for myself and I will believe government and social propaganda about specific groups of people! Very logical, very scholarly, we all clapped. 

So yeah, doesn’t make sense on a character level, to the point that in 2.0 I concluded that they must be using Ratio as a plot device in that scene to deliver some of Aven’s backstory to the audience due to how OOC it was for him 😭. However I wasn’t necessarily wrong, Ratio was delivering some of Aventurines backstory to AN audience (not just us), and he was behaving OOC in the 2.0 scene, but it was on purpose.

b) The betrayal plan 

Aventurine forms a plan in which him and Ratio pretend to betray one another in order to sneak the Aventurine cornerstone into the dreamscape by replacing it with the Topaz stone (red herring + black hole scene dialogue implies she and Jade are there for other reasons) and the Jade stone (perfect dupe). 

Now this betrayal hinges on Sunday, their main antagonist buying it, actually believing that Ratio would betray Aventurine on a mission as important as Penacony, and it requires Sunday also buying that he is winning the whole time, that the loss of the cornerstones was somehow a fumble on Aventurine’s end rather than something he planned all along. 

So, they stage the 2.0 conversation. Ratio yells at Aventurine for losing the cornerstones, something which was part of their plan the whole time. He then insults Aventurine’s background allowing Aventurine to reveal key details of his past that Sunday would not have learned otherwise, which he uses in the trial against Aventurine. Seriously, Aventurine only found out he was the last Avgin when he became a Stoneheart, do y’all think Sunday summoned that info with his mind or something during the trial (like do you guys genuinely think Sunday read his wiki or something)

Moreover, Ratio not only insults him, but portrays Aventurine as useless, disposable to the IPC because he is apparently already sentenced to death. Why does he do this? Well, so Sunday feels confident enough to do the same to Aventurine. Seriously, sentencing an IPC member, especially a high ranking one to death is a risky move, even for someone as convicted as Sunday, he would need the confidence to do so and learning Aven might already die would give him that ability. 

Because well, it doesn’t matter that much if he’s already going to get disposed of in the near future. I also think the IPC plans to use Aventurine’s “death” as leverage against the family because they were pleased to hear of his death sentence according to Dr. Ratio, meaning a) he likely did not have one from them at the time, although in the past he was sentenced to death and b) even if Aventurine succeeded in getting the cornerstone his seeming loss in the rest of the conversation wasn’t actually a loss at all, getting sentenced to death/“dying” at the very least was part of the plan all along as the IPC could still use it as leverage if things went south.

Continually, Ratio treating Aventurine in the exact same sh1tty way the rest of the galaxy does perfectly slots him into the arrogant, uncaring scholar role, which Sunday knows are some of the most easily manipulated people in the galaxy, considering he tries to bribe Ratio with knowledge about Stellarons it seems he bought this idea hook line and sinker. Sunday isn’t even subtle about it either “I heard you and your companion haven’t been getting along lately” where did he hear that from? Ratio didn’t tell him, and even though we know Sunday was 100% watching the two of them on their little adventure pre-meeting him (the bird and hound statues) that scene hasn’t happened yet so where did he get that from?

Some other interesting proof for it is that the Final Victor lightcone likely depicts Aventurine trying to convince Ratio of this plan of his, the events of which must occur  pre-Penacony for several reasons, the least of which being that we just never see it happen on Penacony which if you think it did we would see it. Moreover lightcones are canonically condensed memories and the Final Victor lightcone released in 2.0, meaning it’s the memory of something that happened before then. 

All signs point to the 2.0 scene, the one people use to paint Aventio as toxic being staged. And I have so much more evidence for this, (Ratio would never agree to go without a plan, Aven clearly formed his pre-Penaocny, so much of the plan like Ratio opening the cornerstone box, which he can’t do up until the betrayal as it’s in Sundays possession, rely on him arriving knowing how to do so, the time discrepancies, the complete 180 in personality Ratio would have to do to go from distrusting Aventurine to putting his whole faith in him, etc), but I will reupload one of my old slideshows to elaborate more on it. Basically the one thing that people use to say it’s toxic is not true and is in fact a greater show of the trust between those two. 

“The shippers are all weird and racist” 

Now this one actually has some truth to it because yes there are some incredibly fucking weird Aventio shippers and I do not blame yall for disliking them.

HOWEVER, most Aventio shippers are normal and hate that shit just as much as you guys do. Like do you realize most shippers also really like these characters and have something insane called morals so they don’t automatically excuse racist fujoshi goobers just because they are making content for their favorite ship. Trust me someone doing that pisses me (and most other Aventio shippers) off significantly more than people who hate the ship. Also free Ratio from this shit man poor guy is getting mischaracterized as a slaveowner by his fans and haters 😭

And like guys, have you ever been in a fandom before, like ever? Weirdos are always gonna be weird and it’s not Aventio’s fault they are this months victims. For a fun little example of how gross other fanbases can be, one of the most popular Overwatch ships on ao3 is Genji Shimada X Hanzo Shimada WHO ARE BLOOD RELATED BROTHERS. THERES LIKE 300+ FICS OF IT, SHIMADACEST IS LITERALLY A TAG ON THERE. I WAS IN THE TRENCHES SEARCHING FOR GENJI HANZO ANGST FICS (Hanzo killed Genji it’s complicated doomed siblings will always get me) AND HAVING TO COMB THROUGH THOSE ABOMINATIONS IN THE PROCESS.

Like please I’m relatively new to fandom culture but yall cannot be acting like this is weird for fans to do, it’s weirdo behavior but it is not unique to the HSR fandom or even Aventio. And even if understandably this makes you not like the ship, don’t paint the people who enjoy it as being the people who do this kinda sh1t. It’s not our fault peak gets tainted by miserable creatures ok, let normal ppl have their harmless fun and stop lumping people together into a monolith. 

?????

Well that’s it that’s all the “valid” reasons people have for hating Aventio, at least the ones I can remember. Everything else is just personal opinion and not at all an objective reason.

“They’re so sibling coded!”

Anyways again obviously you can still dislike it not everything is for everyone, I really just wanted to make this post to demonstrate why I and many others like it, and why the reasons people use to say it’s problematic are incorrect. Feel free to call it mid, block it whatever I don’t care, just don’t harass shippers for having some harmless fun, because the characters aren’t real but the people who like them are and in doing so you are really just being a jerk for no reason. If you somehow hate Aventio and read this the whole way through I congratulate you on your ability to actually listen to other people, and regardless of whether you changed your mind or not I respect you for doing so anyways. Thanks for reading and I would love to hear your thoughts. 

[stinglesswasp]

Hi! First of all, I think your art is gorgeous and honestly whatever words I put here, they will never be able to do your art justice. I love your visual storytelling! Now for the actual ask part. How could one start learning how to draw? I have a STEM background and I have wrestled many times before with the idea of trying to pick up drawing and every time I see content creators, such as you, posting their works, it makes me even more motivated to get some scenarios out of my head and place them on paper. Right now I do it in writing but I would love to do something graphic about it too. Problem is, it can feel overwhelming to start as there are so many resources and stuff and it can feel like a daunting task. So, how did you start drawing?

Thank you so much and I hope you will always keep your passion for this craft alive and well. Be it CoD or anything else.

Hi, thank you for your kind words! I've been drawing since I was a wee baby wasp, but anyone can start at anytime. You're absolutely right that it can feel overwhelming, but I love that you're motivated! That's honestly half the battle. I can give some general advice:

Start small, like really small… I know it's tempting to immediately jump into drawing your favourite blorbos smooching (yes, this is the entire point of being an artist) but it's like exercise, you need to build muscle bit by bit before you can attempt any ambitious goals. Draw very basic shapes like circles, squares, triangles, followed by spheres, cylinders, prisms. Try to rotate/stretch/skew/slice them in your mind's eye and draw the result. Draw some simple objects around you. You'll find that all objects, including complex organic forms, can be broken down into basic shapes. Here's an example of the types of exercises you can try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6F5q_5HC3o

There are beginner's tutorials on every aspect of drawing, I'd recommend spending a chunk of time in each area, learning fundamentals like perspective, proportions, and lighting. There are easy rules that you can follow that will make your art look 'correct' and not 'wonky' which might happen if you try to wing it without really understanding what you're doing. This video (though more advanced) has tons of useful advice and a fantastic guideline to follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T_-DiAzYBc (in fact I think this is one of the best art 'tutorials' ever 🤯)

Be patient with yourself!! Your brain literally needs time to grow new neurons because you're learning a new skill. It can be frustrating to be unable to draw what you're imagining, but go easy and build up a strong foundation first. The more solid this is, the more satisfied you'll be when you finally tackle the stuff you actually want to make.

I hope this was helpful! Just practice a lot, have fun, and be proud of your progress 🧡 (also, sit with good posture, stay hydrated and take regular breaks <3)

[socialistexan]

With the new season of Doctor Who now out and the big promotional push it has gotten, I'm sure some people are interested in jumping into the series, but that can be very intimidating for new viewers to get into a 60 year old show.

Luckily, I have - just a few months ago - watched every single episode of Doctor Who and can tell you where to start, and what are the essential episodes to watch.

Let me say up front, this new season is a jump on point for new viewers. There are some plot points that might hit slightly better or small references you'll get if you've seen more of the show, but it's not necessary. It doesn't matter if this is the 40th season of a 60 year old show, the 15th Doctor is a new beginning.

Also, generally, Doctor Who, especially the Classic Series, is very episodic. While there may be some season long arcs (particularly the Steven Moffat era, 2010-2017) and a lot of character and villain arcs, it is generally made to be able to hop in and enjoy a single story on its own.

Just know there is a mysterious character named the Doctor, who is a time and space traveler from a different world who has a fondness for Earth and can change their appearance and likes to help species across the universe, and they usually travel with 1-3 human (but not always) companions. There. You're set.

If you are interested in the show as it was before now, there are 3 points before the new season I can recommend jumping in on if you want to watch in order (though I recommend jumping around to really good stuff in the classic era because stories were generally 2-10 30 minute episodes):

Season 1 episode 1, An Unearthly Child: Honestly I only put this on here because it's the literal beginning, I only recommend this if you really like 60's TV or have enjoyed the Classic (1963-89) already. Slower and a lot of the series elements are not set in stone yet. Keep in mind a lot of 60's episodes are missing and exist only in audio or with animated reconstructions. I recommend not doing those until you know the show better.

Season 12 episode 1, Robot: While I have a soft spot for the 3rd Doctor and there's a lot of great stories people should watch from him, the 4th Doctor is *the* iconic Doctor of the Classic Series, and probably the best one to start with, I would recommend Pyramids of Mars if you want a very beginner friendly story that is one of the best ever made.

Series 1 episode 1, Rose: The start of the Modern/Revival era, generally seasons made starting with the 2005 revival are called "series" (really this is season 27), this introduces a lot of the modern story elements people are familiar with, and the show becomes a lot more serialized and less episodic going forward with season long arcs and recurring plots.

I will also include a list of episodes I recommend watching below the cut:

[octopus-punching-union]

Thoughts on second read of Obscuary chapter. (Roughly chronological this time)

Darkwick has a general medical center — so Mortkranken isn't the only medical care on campus, regardless of what Yuri might say

The Gala happens in August, which means the end of the school year is in August, which means there is basically no break between the school years. (Do they have breaks at Darkwick? If they do, are the ghouls allowed to leave? Probably not.)

Moby is barely even trying to hide that Darkwick sees Lyca primarily as a research subject (and MC as his "warden")

Darkwick doesn't trust Subaru anymore? MC asks if Subaru wouldn't be a better mentor, and Moby's like nope but doesn't explain

Kinda sus that the flashback repeats Haku's "have I ever lied to you" line

What is the "most severe form of disciplinary action"? In Hotarubi chapter, Lyca and Subaru imply that Darkwick planned to kill Lyca if he was, in fact, guilty of murder. Are they going around secretly executing people?

Haku's like "I'm well aware." Does he know someone who was punished this way? (I've been thinking for a while that he's the spy, but that his motivation is trying to protect someone, possibly Rui. I feel like this is another point in that direction.)

Aww, Lyca makes MC sit down when she gets upset remembering the anomaly that cursed her. What a sweetheart.

If the moon is always a crescent in Obscuary, does that mean Lyca doesn't have to worry about transforming if he stays there during the full moon?

...did Rui seriously get cursed by hitting on a Reaper?

Hmm is it just me, or does Subaru not look super thrilled when Lyca says that he's already made a new friend?

Lyca and Rui's reactions to MC saying that she wants to use the Gala to get help breaking her curse — Lyca looks upset (didn't know she was cursed), Rui smiles (proud of his curse twin being proactive)

Rui making Lyca actually work at the bar but telling MC to just relax

Why is Nicolas being so shady about other people (particularly MC) being at the bar?

Benkei only started working at the campus store recently and immediately arranged to start selling anomalous medicine. Maybe he was a former student?

Aww, Lyca takes afternoon naps.

Rui says that going to the basement to make liquor is "always a workout"... and that there are freaky looking plants writhing around down there..... and he wouldn't recommend it unless you're into that kind of thing......... are you keeping a tentacle monster in the basement, Rui???

Towa says that the tree is sick because she's not getting enough love. Possibly she is reacting to the overall tension on campus? Or maybe more people used to be able to see her, but something has happened and they can't? Maybe it's a response to the general students leaving Jabberwock? (Is her hill in Jabberwock or in its own area?)

On first read, I thought maybe Rui was previously in Ultio, since he knew about the prison. Now I think he was held in that prison at some point.

Towa says that Edward doesn't understand love... but he doesn't give a crap about the dog, he's only looking for it for Haru. (Towa loves Haru confirmed?)

Taiga remembers Ed, even though it's been a while since they've seen each other. Is his bad memory a recent thing, where he only has trouble remembering people he's recently met?

What does this mean? Taiga can (literally or figuratively?) see some kind of danger Ritsu is unaware of?

Lyca's twitchy ears. So cute...

Darkwick supposedly doesn't know much about MC's curse, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they're letting it run its course just to study it. If MC wasn't useful as an inspector, she would probably be in a lab or a cell somewhere.

Back on the mission, after discovering that the Barometz is "friendly" — I wonder how much of the previous animosity between ghouls and inspectors was due to stuff like this. Trying to let a peaceful anomaly be.

In parts of the comic scene, Lyca looks like he's running on all fours. Cuuuuute

Earlier, Rui said that Ed was basically on house arrest. Towards the end of the chapter, Moby calls it a "self-imposed confinement". I don't really trust anything Moby says at this point...

Ed clearly knows more about anomalies than Darkwick does... so they're not asking him, or he's not complying, or they're not listening to him. Why is he at Darkwick anyway? I can't see what he's getting out of this. Is he being detained?

Rui's conversation at the end — honestly, I can see it. His comments about not liking hard work or not reaching out to help people — throughout the whole chapter, he only seems to enjoy helping MC. He's kinda irritated with Lyca and Ed for almost the entire chapter. All of the housework and stuff he does is because no one else will do it, and he literally can't sleep so he's probably bored out of his mind. He chose to start the bar, so he probably enjoys that... but maybe he started do it partly to have more people to talk to. I think the isolation is getting to him and he's starting to feel less "human", in a sense, and detached from society. I think he's starting to warm up to Lyca near the end, at least?

[gemsofgreece]

Hi! I’m planning a trip to Greece but all I can find is info on the beaches and island hopping but I personally wanna go to see the mountains rather than do any partying stuff, the landscape and geology of Greece is fascinating and I’d like to see it up close but at the same time I want to be supporting local communities rather than major tourist corporations. Do you have any tips? Also if it’s helpful I am learning Greek so I don’t mind any recommendations for areas that are unlikely to have any English speakers! Thank you! 😊

Hello! I believe the official site of Greek Tourism Organisation "Visit Greece" has plenty of information about all places in Greece, not just the islands. Now, before getting to exactly what you asked, I would like to make some clarifications so you have a more accurate picture about Greece as a travel destination.

First, while the islands get the tourists by a long margin, it does not mean that they are all about partying. Only few islands are specifically partying destinations, namely just Mykonos and Ios, although even there you might be able to find regions which are more traditional and good for more chill, authentic and secluded vacations. Also, if staying far from mass tourism is very important to you, there are several islands that are not very known to tourists yet. Because they are islands, by nature some of them not yet touched by mass tourism and investments are actually very remote, more remote than many places in the mainland.

Second, Greece indeed has an interesting landscape and it has it both in the mainland and in the islands. While most islands have lower altitudes and less vegetation than the mainland, the vast majority has a very rugged terrain too. The type of "flatbread" landscapes, as I call them respectfully, virtually does not exist in Greece. Then four out of five active volcanoes in Greece are in the islands, which create interesting landscapes. And then there's Crete with its ultra mountain ranges. This is not me trying to sway you from your wish to go to the mainland, in fact I do think the mainland is severely underrated. I just want to give you a more spherical and accurate perception of Greece as a destination. So back to your ask!

I had trouble figuring out how to approach your ask. Asking me about seeing "the mountains" is in fact not easier than asking me about seeing "the islands". I thought about it long and hard (a bit too long, I hope you're still hanging around to see it) and based on your interests as described above I decided to offer four general plans about your itinerary. I called them "the plans of the triads". Every plan is a triad, I'll explain this in a bit.

Apologies in advance that I will go out on a limb and not include Thrace and include only a tiny bit of Macedonia in my plans. I did not include Thrace because even though it has the Rhodope mountains and perhaps the best or amongst the best woodlands, it is not as mountainous as the other regions. As for Macedonia, I include it only slightly and it's definitely a choice because literally the four biggest mountains in Greece are in Macedonia LOL including most of freaking Olympus. However, the reason I am leaving it out for the most part is because it is a slightly less mountainous region than the others, in the sense that there are larger intervals of hills and lowlands between the mountainous destinations for someone who tries to make a clever mountain itinerary, you know? So, you understood this correctly, I am leaving Olympus out of this lol. I will also leave out Mount Pelion of Thessaly, the most touristic Greek mountain, which is gorgeous, because I believe it's more cosmopolitan and not what you're asking for exactly. I had to preface this so one would not be weirded out by my exclusions, they are conscious choices.

So, I call the plans triads because all plans are based on visiting three geographic regions. These regions are all next to each other and they are all very mountainous so it would make it easier for you to explore in relatively close distances. By the way, you will need to rent a car for this or come by land with your own. You don't get to do a mountain itinerary in Greece with a bus or a train. Unless you get in touch with a travel agency but they will have some other itinerary in mind perhaps.

The triad plans are four:

The Screamer

The Recluse

The Athenian boy

The Mediterranean alternative

Here's a map with all plans:

The Screamer (Ioannina - Trikala - Grevena)

Why that name: I call this one the "screamer" because it is the most obvious choice perhaps for someone who wants mountains. It's not necessarily more mountainous than the others but it is the flagship of mountainous and landlocked mainland destinations in Greece.

Which major regions are featured: Epirus, Thessaly and Macedonia.

What's the X-factor: It has perhaps the ideal combo of "geology and landscape" out of the four as I am not only recommending mountains here but also the most famous natural wonder of the country and also a Record Guinness gorge.

Season: From middle spring to middle autumn, you don't want to get trapped there in a snowstorm.

Places you can hope to see in this plan ideally:

the UNESCO World Heritage Meteora Rocks and their medieval monasteries, as well as the scenic towns surrounding them

the National Park of Vikos-Aoos with its trademark Vikos gorge, the deepest gorge in the world in relation to its width

the National Park of Northern Pindus with the woodlands of Valia Calda

the quaint mountain villages of Elati, Pertouli and Neraidochori in Mount Koziakas, Trikala

the region of Zagori with its numerous UNESCO Cultural Landscape traditional villages

Mount Tymfi, also in Zagori, with its alpine lake

the northern part of Tzoumerka (Athamanian mountains) with villages such as Kalarrytes and Pramanta

the lake city of Ioannina, the 6th largest in Greece. If there, visit also the lake's island and its museum. It's the only place in Greece you can eat frog legs and lake eels, if for some reason you're up for this

the towns of Trikala and Grevena. Eat mushrooms if you visit the latter.

Metsovo, one of the largest mountain towns of the country. Visit the museums and eat cheeses and cured meats there.

Samarina on Mount Smolikas, one of the highest mountain villages in Greece and the Balkans. Smolikas is the second tallest mountain after Olympus but it has smooth slopes and it can be easily hiked.

IF you take the risk to go in winter, you can visit the Ski Resort of Vasilitsa in Grevena. Check if it's open / it has snowed enough first.

Remember, winter in Greece is either summer or Siberia, there's no in between and it's hard to predict which version you'll get.

Note! If you hike up to the alpine Dragon Lake of Mount Tymfi, DON'T swim in it even if it's summer. The lake hosts endangered endemic tritons and other fauna that is vulnerable to germs we might introduce to them.

Danger! If by any chance, you lose your way with the car in the mountains of Ioannina and Trikala, DON'T try a road named "Katara". It's a dangerous road. Keep driving in the highway.

Fun Fact: In this region, especially in Grevena, if you're very lucky, you might see bears. Greece's brown bears (almost?) never attack humans but of course keep your distance and observe from afar.

Will I be able to see all this in my journey: No, of course not. From now on, you'll have to make your internet search, check these places, find the ones you like best and ideally choose ones close to one another, check the distances, the accessibility, the average weather, the accommodations.

Meteora, the Dragon Lake of Mount Tymfi and Northern Pindus (probs Mount Smolikas). All these pics are clearly taken in spring, April or later.

The Recluse (Karditsa - Arta - Eurytania)

Why that name: From all the plans this is the one that is most likely to feel far from organized tourism and with the highest chances of meeting people not knowing English.

Which major regions are featured: Thessaly - Epirus - Sterea Hellas

What's the X-factor: It's a highly untouched and authentic feeling region with traditional pretty villages, imposing mountain scenery and several lakeside destinations, an ideal region to seek serenity and getting away from it all. At the same time, it has the most mountainous regional capital city in the country as well as high quality accommodation, including chalets.

Season: From middle spring to middle autumn, you don't want to get trapped there in a snowstorm, unless you have the means to spend the adverse weather in your accommodation, without worrying about being back on time.

Places you can hope to see in this plan ideally:

Agrafa mountains and their villages

the well known Plastira lake, it has organized tourist facilities

Karditsa town and its UNESCO protected public market

The region of Argithea in Karditsa with the small but beautiful Stefaniada lake

the central and southern part of Tzoumerka (Athamanian mountains), their villages such as Agnanta and Theodoriana, their woodlands and their waterfalls

The town of Arta with its fabled Bridge of Arta

Kremasta, the largest man-made lake in Greece

if you come in winter, the Ski Resort of Velouchi

Karpenisi, the mountainous capital of Eurytania

The natural wonder of Panta Vrechi Canyon. You 'll probably know that "Panta Vrechi" means "it's always raining".

the beautiful region of Prousos with the 12th century monastery and the canyon of the Black Cave

Will I be able to see all this in my journey: No, of course not. From now on, you'll have to make your internet search, check these places, find the ones you like best and ideally choose ones close to one another, check the distances, the accessibility, the average weather, the accommodations.

Agrafa mountains, the village of Agnanta in the Central Tzoumerka mountains and Proussos.

The Athenian Boy (Boeotia - Phocis - Phthiotis)

Why that name: Because it is the plan closest to Athens, in case you start your journey from there (most likely) or intend to visit Athens properly as well.

Which major regions are featured: We're putting Sterea Hellas in the spotlight with this one.

What's the X-factor: Again, its proximity to Athens without making any compromises in scenery. The mountains here are just as large as the ones in the plans above. Moreover, because it is close to Athens it has both secluded, remote destinations and more touristy, cosmopolitan or organized ones in close distance with each other.

Season: All year round because (broken record alert) due to its proximity to Athens perhaps things are catered to a little more carefully and it is less likely to stumble onto issues such as blocked roads even during adverse wintry weather.

Places you can hope to see in this plan ideally:

the cosmopolitan mountain town of Arachova

if in winter, the ski resort of Mount Parnassus

the city of Livadeia and its nearby Krya springs and waterfalls

the surrounded by mountains town of Amfissa and its elevated fortress, also some interesting carnival festival taking place there in February (earplugs recommended because these celebrations get loud)

the famous Oracle of Delphi, one of the most visited sites in Greece, on Mount Parnassus

the traditional villages of Phocis (scattered throughout the several mountains of the region)

Vardousia mountains, the mountains with some of the toughest peaks to climb across most of Greece

Mount Giona, the biggest mountain south of Olympus and the one with the biggest headwall in the Balkans

the gorgeous verdant region of Pavliani in Phthiotis

the National Woodland Park and the Asopos Gorge of Mount Oeta

if in Phthiotis, you can visit Thermopylae, the site of the battle between King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans with the Persians

Will I be able to see all this in my journey: Not if you want to explore each destination and mountain thoroughly. But it's possible that you can fit more things together in this one, although don't hold me to it, I may be wrong.

Vardousia Mountains, Arahova town and somewhere in Mount Oeta.

The Mediterranean alternative (Corinthia - Arcadia - Laconia)

Why that name: This plan trails down the mountainous core of the Peloponnese, South Greece. The climate is a little more typical Mediterranean than the previous temperate and alpine elevations. It still has large mountains which get snow in the winter but the weather is certainly a little milder. Furthermore, this plan includes a peninsula featured here for its special geomorphology and remoteness and not its altitude.

Which major regions are featured: Peloponnese through and through.

What's the X-factor: The milder weather, a more easily accessible combo of mountain and sea (although to be fair that's pretty easy in most Greek places) and a lot of historical and cultural sites.

Season: All year around. If however you definitely want wintry weather, ski resorts and snowcapped mountains, this happens of course but it is less guaranteed or it may last for a few days only.

Places you can hope to see in this plan ideally:

the Corinth Canal, Isthmus of Corinth

Mount Kyllini (or Ziria)

Aroania mountains (also known as Helmos) and the National Park of the Vouraikos gorge (okay most of it is in Achaea region next to Corinthia, I am stealing a little bit here)

Feneos and Doxa Lake

the historical quaint villages of Mount Menalo such as Stemnitsa, Dimitsana and Limbovisi

the town of Vytina, its nearby woods of Vytina and the Road of Love

if in winter and it has snowed, the ski resort in Mount Menalo

the very forested Mount Parnon and its villages

Mount Taygetus, the tallest mountain of the Peloponnese, overlooking the town of Sparta

the hilly Byzantine castle city of Mystras

Mani, a rough rugged - at places barren - remote peninsula with the tower houses of the Maniots, the fiercely proud and reserved people of the region. Places to see across Mani are Vathia, Areopoli, Oitylon and Cape Tenaro.

Will I be able to see all this in my journey: No but this plan is a little easier to navigate because you'll start from the north, heading from Athens to nearby Corinthia and then you can keep exploring as many of the aforementioned places as you want by going more and more south.

Lake Doxa in Feneos, a village in Mount Menalo of Arcadia and Mount Taygetus with Sparta on its foot.

Phew, okay that was it. I believe these are fairly good recs to examine and choose from. And again, to anyone that might wonder why I did not include this or that place, I know. I have left a lot of stuff out of this. But you gotta start somewhere. Anon, I hope this helps you out and also I hope you see this because it took me ages to finish it. In my defence, it was tricky!

Photos belong to their respective owners, I use them here as a visual guide for the Anon.

[leifygreeens]

could you write something about your first kisses with the bachelor/ettes? I feel like you're the only blog who characterizes them well ugh

Hey, anon. Sorry for disappearing on you, that’s my bad. I hope this is worth the wait. 

If you're looking for other people who know how to write people like they're people, @maylilithreign, @snailmail444, @babiebom, and @junicult are all great, and I can’t recommend them enough. (Minors do not follow/interact with Jo or Libby, and Bom and Snail don’t want any kiddos interacting with their NSFW stuff, so don’t do that either. Be nice and respect everyone's boundaries.)

Warnings: Cursing (my fault), a little bit of dialogue, and some suggestive moments (also my fault). Enjoy <3

Sam

Out of all of the bachelors, he’s the most nervous

Which is ironic, given the “jump-head-first-into-things-with-no-care-for-my-personal-safety” vibe he’s got going on, but whatever

He refuses to touch you, at first—but not because he doesn’t want to

Sam is an extremely tactile person, so of course he wants to touch you—but he also knows he can be a bit much sometimes, and he doesn’t want to chase you off with his greed or his enthusiasm

So he goes for soft, gentle, and perfectly pliant under your touch as you pull him in

It’s honestly a little jarring, because he seems the type to get desperate (true) and not be able to control himself (also very true)

But this boy is exercising an immense amount of self control to not jump headfirst into getting heavy and fast and yanking on clothes too hard

He does a good job keeping himself contained atta boy, buddy

He thought that once he’d finally gotten a taste of you, maybe he’d finally be able to think about literally anything else

Unfortunately, he would be incorrect

And now that he has experienced it, he’s overwhelmed and dizzy with his want

He keeps his eyes closed and basks in it for at least five seconds after you pull away

He is absolutely heaving, wrecked just from the tiniest chaste press of your lips against his

He’s been waiting for you to do that for weeks

His eyes flutter open slowly, and then his gaze flicks up to you

Licks his lips as he tracks his eyes down your torso and back up

His palm is warm against the back of your neck as he pulls you down for seconds

And yeah, this is more like how you thought it’d be

Does not stop pulling you against him, even though you physically couldn’t get any closer if you tried

Your shirt gets rucked up to your waist untintentionally, because he keeps gripping you and yanking you closer

But the moment he feels your bare skin against his palms, he’s flinging himself backward

Blinks up at you with bright pink cheeks and his hands twitching against your waist

Swallows hard and clenches his jaw

He knows he should let go but he really doesn’t want to

If you lean back in, he drags his hands up slowly, and traces the line of your spine with his fingertips

I’ll stop there lol

Sebastian

This boy. Jesus.

He’s got next to no experience, let’s just get that out of the way now

Is immediately overwhelmed, even before you kiss him

Just the feeling of your palms warm on his jaw as you angle him just so is enough to have him trembling

Stares at your lips through half-lidded eyes until you finally finish closing the distance

Shivers at the slightest brush of your lips against his

He gasps high and can’t even find it in himself to be embarrassed by it

Grabs onto your hips for dear life

He is immensely glad that you decided to kiss him while he was leaning on his bike, because otherwise he would have collapsed at your feet he might collapse anyway

Lord help him if you try to deepen the kiss though

If you do, he might actually pass out

Similarly to Sam, he’s going to get desperate after a minute, but he’ll hold himself back

He’ll have way less success with it than Sam, though

Sebastian definitely holds you a little too tight, and doesn’t give you enough space or time to breathe between kisses

Even if you don’t touch him beyond holding his face, when you pull away, he looks absolutely debauched

Like you could’ve sworn your hands were never in his hair but somehow it’s still ruffled?

Nevermind his hoodie sitting askew on his shoulders and giving a considerable peak at his collarbones

Honestly you don’t know how he managed to do all that, but don’t bother asking him because he is not able to think straight at all

His eyes are hardly open, blinking slowly and zoned absolutely the fuck out while he tries to catch his breath

Homeboy is straight up panting

“Breathe, Seb.”

Whines out a “no” all petulantly, pulls you flush against his chest, and dives in again

Alex

Homeboy spent weeks fantasizing about kissing you before he finally worked up the courage

He wants your first kiss to be special, like something straight off the movie screen

But he’s constantly second guessing himself, convinced that no moment is perfect enough to cut it

He’s hoping that the moment will come when you’re on a date or something, and he’s planning romantic shit left and right with the hopes that something will click and that’ll be it

He’s dropping you off at home after another date, and another failed attempt

He walks down your porch and turns around briefly to make sure you get inside safely

You’re watching him go, a knowing smile on your face as you reach for the handle

“Goodnight, Alex. Get home safe.”

You lick your lips, and turn to go inside

That’s what does it. Because of course it is.

The urge, the determination, the sudden desire thick and pooling in his chest that he’s never felt before—he knows without a doubt that if he doesn’t kiss you right now, he’s going to cry

Fuck perfection, fuck the moment, he just wants to kiss you

Practically stomps up your front steps, breath heaving in his chest as he reaches out and pulls you right against him with a hand on your jaw

Angling you just so, and leaning in to seal your lips together

He breathes a sigh of relief

Finally.

Something like satisfaction settles in his chest, warm like honey dripping into a mug of tea

His touch is firm on your jaw, keeping you perfectly angled for him to kiss you how he wants

You hold onto his arms for dear life, anchoring yourself to him as he kisses you so eagerly that your back actually hits your front door

It doesn’t hurt, but that makes you gasp into his mouth, and oof that sound is dangerous for his sanity

Isn’t really rough about it, but he is firm

Hisses a curse or two between kisses, licks his lips a lot because he can’t get enough

Bringing your hands up around his shoulders, you tangle your fingertips in the short cropped hair on his nape

You run your fingernails over his skin lightly, and he shivers hard

Practically pins you against the door in his effort to get closer

He accidentally presses too close, and the tiniest noise rumbles against his lips from the back of your throat

He knows what that sound means immediately, and alarm bells go off in his head

Tears himself away from you and pants for breath

Drops his forehead against your shoulder and props himself up against the door instead of holding you

“Alex?” 

God, your voice is all hoarse from kissing him and it’s putting dangerous thoughts in his head

“I should go home. Before I…”

You agree, but he doesn’t move away

Your eyes flick down to his lips for a split second, and that’s enough

Just one more, he tells himself, and then you’re swapping the air in your lungs again

With one hand spread against the mahogany and the other gripping your hip, he gives you a few more than just the one

Elliott 

Same dilemma as Alex

Wants it to be special, dramatic, memorable, heart-stopping, all the things

And he tries

He tries so hard

And it almost works. 

God dammit, his picnic by the pond next to Marnie’s almost works

The moment is perfect, you’re smiling up at him with the breeze blowing in your hair and the sun in your smile

Until the sun is suddenly gone and the wind picks up into a howl

In almost no time at all a storm cracks the sky open and you two get absolutely drenched

You run to your farmhouse, practically soaked through as you make it to the safety of your porch awning

The picnic is ruined, and he’s super disappointed because he was so close 

Then he looks at you, and he’s never seen such a beautiful sight

Hair glued to your face from the rain, with a wild grin on your face and your laughter chiming like bells in his ears

He drops the picnic blanket heavy with rain water across the top of your porch bench to dry, and sets the basket down

He needs his hands free if he wants to do this right

He’s stepping towards you, shivering from the rain sticking to his skin

And we all know Elliott is a romantic at heart

Wipes the rain off your cheeks as best he can, all while he smiles softly at you

“May I kiss you?”

You nod quickly, immediately hooking your hands on the lapels of his jacket and hanging on

Kisses you gentle and slow

Cradles the back of your head and neck like you’re made of glass

It isn’t a particularly long kiss—maybe a few seconds at most

Breathes quietly against your lips when you part

Looks at you for a few long moments with all the love in his heart, and doesn’t plan on kissing you twice until you’re glancing at his lips again

Elliott brings his hands to your shoulder blades and presses you close to his chest

But he can’t get close enough

Drags his hands down to your waist and grips you tight

You squeak against his mouth when he does, and that’s when he loses his composure

Starts kissing you a little more firmly, tries deepening the kiss a bit

Shivers and gasps when your fingers tangle into his hair, still stringy and wet from the rain

And he doesn’t stop shivering

You pull away, feeling his shoulders shaking uncontrollably, and then you giggle because his teeth have started chattering

“Cold?”

“Extremely.”

You invite him inside to dry off and warm up

He may or may not kiss you again.

Shane

You’d think your first kiss would be nervous and awkward—no.

Shane holds himself back for at least a few weeks into your relationship, worried out of his mind that one wrong move is gonna shatter everything for you two

So once he’s confident and knows for certain that he’s what you want,

He’s not holding back for shit

Homeboy physically can’t stand the tension anymore anyway, especially with how often he catches you staring at him—at his lips

Pulls you in by the back of your neck and keeps his hand there to hold you close

Even when he pulls away to let you catch your breath, it’s barely enough because you’re still gasping into each other’s mouths

He literally does not let you go more than an inch or two

Your lips are 100% flushed and tingling from how much he nips at them

His other hand is firm on your waist and he does not let you go unless you ask him to

Struggles to choose between looking into your eyes or staring at your lips any time you part

So he does both

His hair is usually a little scruffy looking, but something about a kiss like that has him looking particularly disheveled

Shiny pink lips, bruised and angry red from how hard he’s pressing into you

Eyebrows pinched together and it almost makes him look angry

His hoodie is probably pulling at his shoulders a bit because somehow you managed to push it down his arms

Presses his thumb against the pulse point beneath your jaw, just to make sure he’s not the only one who’s losing it

And he struggles to keep it together when he feels your heart thumping wildly in your throat

Recognizes which direction you’re both going and starts switching to chaste pecks

Rests his forehead against yours as you both calm back down

Gets a little teary while looking at you, and huffs a wet laugh too

He’s so happy with you, and doesn’t know how he got so lucky

Harvey

Softest fucking kiss you’ve ever been given in your entire life

Your noses bump together a little before he’s diving in close

Holds you so delicately, because you’re so precious to him

Gives you a few test pecks before he actually goes for it, and breathes in heavily through his nose when he does

It’s the kind of kiss that has you pulling on each other to get as close as possible

He holds the back of your neck like Shane, but he’s much more gentle about it

Will let you pull away however many times you want, but chases after you every time

His eyes are all hazy and he physically cannot stop looking at your mouth

With one hand on your waist, Harvey will dip his thumb under the hem of your shirt and rub back and forth over your skin

You’ve never seen him as focused as he is when he’s kissing you

Doesn’t move to take the kiss deeper, and doesn’t use tongue—but he doesn’t need to

Just the insistent press of lips is enough to get his point across

If his glasses get pushed up or clink against your face, he’ll pull back to take them off and set them down

The tension is kind of overwhelming

Every time he tries to restrain himself or exhibit self control, it only takes one look at your big eyes blinking at him with a flush on your cheeks and he’s getting right back up in your business

You’ve never heard him curse so openly before, but trying to control himself is nearing painful

Dives in, pauses a centimeter away, swears viciously because he’s failing miserably at controlling himself, and then he’s giving up entirely

Couldn’t resist you even if he wanted to

You’ll have to be the one to put an end to it because Harvey cannot

Don’t call his name while he’s like this though because then he won’t give you a moment to speak again

[prisonhannibal]

Hi, I'd just like to say how it's just so incredibly cool to me that you're making indigenous ( specifically sámi ) art. Though just "cool" might be too small a word to describe it.

As someone who IS sámi but. Kind of doesn't feel like they are / has a whole lot of their own complicated feelings about it (didn't speak the language at home and that sort of stuff yk), it's always so special to me to see anything about it online. Always makes me want to get a hold of myself and actually connect with my culture, it's so so important to me and seeing your art makes me really happy :'))

And honestly? Seeing stuff about us online makes it feel like it's not too late for me, that I don't have to just put "finnish" in my bio anymore. ( Though I can't really start thinking it's too late if I'm still a minor now can I?)

Sorry if this got a little much, but I wanted to let you know how important your art can be, don't feel pressured to answer this, if you want to you can just leave it or delete it!! I'm a scared guy hiding behind anon anyways :'))

Hi ❤️💚💛💙 Don’t apologize it’s not too much and I’m glad you chose to reach out instead of dealing with it alone, that’s a step in the process of reconnecting ❤️ There is a specific loneliness in not having connections to your people. I don’t know your circumstances or if it’s a completely disconnected situation or if your family grew up calling themselves sámi but not participating in the culture, so some of this might not be relevant to you but I’ll answer as if you have very little connection just in case, so I can cover too much instead of too little. I’m sorry if this is all unnecessary and preachy and you didn’t ask but I have things I feel like saying.

The language thing doesn’t say anything about how sámi you are, I didn’t grow up speaking my heart language (that’s what my áhkku calls it and I think it’s beautiful) either, the majority of sámi people don’t speak any sámi language. You have to remember that the damage done to our communities is so severe that I literally feel like I’m in a privileged position for growing up with our culture and traditions in a proud sámi family and that I got to wear a gákti as a kid, even though our language was taken from our family before I was even born. A lot of people don’t even get that. It’s not our fault, whatever we lost during the norwegianization period (and similar policies and laws in the other “countries” in sápmi) was taken from us when they beat and forced it out of our great grandparent and grandparent generation.

It’s not too late for you, or for anyone. I know many people who got their first gákti late into adulthood. I’d celebrate someone reconnecting in their 60s. You are so so so young, you have so many years left of life where you can have this, if you choose to take it. You’re also lucky that you’re young bc there’s many youth organizations across the borders. I work on the board in one and we work on organizing social stuff and duodji courses and stuff like that to create meeting spaces for sámi youth! I was actually just in Helsinki to meet with some of the organizations on the finnish and swedish side and they seemed very nice :) I would recommend looking into what’s available in your area, and if you’re interested in learning languages or duodji I wish I could help find resources, but I don’t speak finnish, but I imagine if you contact your local community they’ll be able to help you with that.

Connection is healing 🌸 Both for yourself and for our people, because we are still here and we always will be. The only people who win when we are quiet is the people who did this to us. I want all of us back and together and with the sámi spirit that ČSV stands for. There is no obligation to do anything and you should never feel guilt for not being able to do things, but I like to think that if my family from the past who weren’t allowed to do the things I do now could see me they’d be happy. When I took sámi classes I thought that the people that came before us when boarding schools were a tool to get rid of our language would be so happy to see that we’re allowed to learn now. I hope that thought can give some comfort and strength no matter where you are or what you do in this process ❤️

After the 2023 protests I was really fucked in the head, so I went home to my áhkku and she cooked reindeer meat for me and taught me how to sew a gákti, and that felt like it healed something in me.

Anyway, this was a really nice ask to get. It means a lot to me to hear that my art is meaningful to other people. I wasn’t always sure there was an audience for it, but I always made it anyway because I think sámi art and happiness existing is a beautiful and important thing ☺️

I need to say again, you are so so young, there’s so much time and so much you can learn and do, and there’s no rush. I have heard many from the older generations say how proud they are and emotional that our youth is taking our traditions and our languages back, we’ll be happy to have you. I wish you all the best

[thepaintedsable]

I just had the realization that there is probably a book binding community somewhere on this site and that I don’t just have to stew over the issues I have. Even if this is like throwing a tack at a wall, it’s better hoping for it to stick than metaphorically stepping on it.

Hello I am a beginner, does anyone have any good techniques for attaching covers to their pages? Or just some general binding techniques (maybe some that might work well with stiffer types of paper)? Hell, even if you’re not in bookbinding, got any ideas, haha? I’m basically teaching myself this whole process, and know literally nobody involved in it. Information has been a bit harder to come by, mostly because I’m making sketchbooks, and my medium of choice is watercolor. Meaning my papers are a lot thicker than what I’ve seen recommended on “beginner” friendly tutorials. Any tutorials, really. I have also decided I want to… well, for lack of better term, steal covers off of old books. I just like the look some old academic or hardcover books give.

I mean, look how nice! :) Goal is to have a bookshelf of neat little finished, inconspicuous sketchbooks. And, to make note, most of these books were on the path to being tossed for one reason or another. In this picture there’s even one I tried to make my own cover (red + blue cloth) but those don’t really turn out good either because I’m a little limited on materials for that part. I’d love to make a leather cover, but I’d have to be confident in the rest of my process before I even try buying the stuff.

Main issues are that the thicker type papers “folder” (they end up thicker at the backed end, forcing the end that opens to be thinner in comparison for some reason?), and that I’m generally unsure how to actually set up/prepare the back end of the papers to suitably fit into the covers. They end up very loose (not to each other, the papers stay pretty close, but they can wiggle) or just… not fitting the cover (too much paper, too little paper), and I’m unsure how to fix it.

Even though I’ve gotten better over time, my bigger “solutions” have resulted in it being unusable, either due to the pages being too rigid/full and not being able to open properly or something ripping.

Now, I will say my materials aren’t “up to par.” I don’t have a book press, I use clamps and old wood; I’ve become very familiar with hot glue and superglue; my string is old embroidery thread and I punch holes with an oversized sewing needle; and, clearly, I’m being stubborn and using overly thick paper. But in my mind there has to be a way, I just haven’t figured out the best way yet.

Help? 👁👁

O yeah, and books open :) My literal only current goal is usability + pretty cover. I use a lot of paper types, as you can see (loosest is marker pad, most rigid is watercolor)

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hear me out on this please

TADC crew x itward like reader

If you want to ignore this request you can I totally understand lol

TADC cast x itward type! Reader

Imma be so real with you anon originally I was gonna save this request for later since I have ZERO ideas (funny since fran bow as a game has had a choke hold on me since it released) but then I realized I can be evil and introduce people to the game

Anyways guys go play fran bow! Or better yet theres a full fandub, as well as several lets plays on YouTube!! I also recommend little misfortune as it's made by the same creators and takes place in the same universe!

Kind of wrote this as their general thoughts and dynamic with you since I struggled a lot with thinking of romantic stuff with them, especially with characters that I dont think would like. Be interested in characters like itward

CAINE:

You guys. Can talk up a storm, I think. Literally it's just you two "interrogating" one another and learning more about each other. As scared as you are of the current situation at hand, you can't help but be intrigued by everything, including the self proclaimed ring master!

Curiosity is damned, damn you curiosity/ref

Your curiosity ends up with you learning as nearly as much caine is willing to let on about the digital world...

Thinks

Two well dressed fellows, as well.. bonus if you have a red suit like itward so you kinda match with Caine

Caine loves watching you build your little machines, too, usually hovers over your shoulder

POMNI:

Sure you might not be able to fly away in a flying ship and return to the real world, but who's to say you cant make your own exit..? Possibly manipulate the code or something...! Sure you're main thing is machinery and technology, but theres usually some level of coding in there... so you and pomni team up to try to come up with a plan... honestly you probably lightly scold her when you find out she tried to leave, knowing ragatha needed help. On one hand you cant bring yourself to fully blame her, but on the other you would rather try to escape with everyone, you know? Pomni is sometimes put off by your odd nature, though... not enough to push her away from working with you though!!

RAGATHA:

You guys bond over your shared interested in sewing! You both make plushes! For you it's more so for gift giving, and for ragatha she does it to pass time! I like to think you guys both have nights where you just hang out, either in her room or yours, and just. Chat and sew! Probably finds your weirdness a little endearing in it's own way; afterall never once were you malicious, in fact you're quite kind to everyone around you and are more than willing to offer second chances even to those who dont deserve it. You and ragatha would be really good friends, I think!

JAX:

Finds your weirdness a little annoying and he probably asks you a ton of stupid questions on purpose. Probably asks a stream of dumb ones before asking one he knows will peak your interest, but insist he needs to go do something when you start answering. That aside he has probably asked if you could build him a funky little gadget (that he totally wont use for mischief).. probably tries to get all buddybuddy with you because he knows you wont give it to him for the...actual reason he wants

You personally dont hate him, but theres no real solid friendship there I think

KINGER:

Ah, the two strange father figures! Both with funky interests; kingers is bugs and yours is forks! ....okay well it's hard to combine those two interest so I guess we can use a different one, mechanics! You've definitely made kinger wind up robotic bugs before, and the fact it made him happy makes you happy! You guys both have a habit of spacing out, though on different levels and for different reasons...you both mutually keep an eye on one another, though!

You've probably dreamed of building a flying machine and escaping this place at least once, leaving with kinger. Too bad the reality isnt going to be that simple.. besides you'd bring everyone with you anyways

ZOOBLE:

honestly they get annoyed how sometimes you dont give direct answers and be vague when you're asked for a solution. It's not that you're trying to be malicious or incompetent, youre just trying to push for everyone to get creative and explore the world around them themselves, you know? Finds it a little off how you sometimes zone out, as if youre thinking about a dozen things at once... but nonetheless, zooble cant bring themselves to hate you. In fact you have this weird comforting aura around you.

GANGLE:

Youre so so nice with her and always trying to build her up. And honestly I think that's so sweet. Hugs. Give hugs! Side note I bet itward gives the most comforting hugs so by extension the reader gives the most comforting hugs!! You're always there to stand up for her, too, when people *cough cough jax* are mean to her. You probably also try to helo her make a new mask... not like "oh you help her fix her masks" no I mean like you try to make her a mask that's made of a stronger material so it's harder to break

Honestly I cant see a romantic relationship between a reader like this and gangle, I personally see it more as close friends or even found family

[ddarker-dreams]

Hellooooo I have been DYING to know this from you 👉👈. You know how there's a lot of tips for writing stuff? Well do you happen to have any tips for reading stuff? I want to read the books you recommend but I fear I'm just too dumb 😭 and won't understand what is going on let alone the themes and philosophies discussed. I feel like I would be insulting Dostoevsky by reading his work looool. We were never taught this stuff in schools ;O

I'm talking about critical thinking and analysis skills, media literacy, being able to picture and visualise sceneries; characters' voices/appearances etc., and just overall being able to comprehend one sentence that doesn't use the most basic active voice structure 😭 thank you if you choose to answer!!!!

SWEET ANON !!!! YOU ARE NOT DUMB !!!!

this is coming from a survivor of the american education system, so it might not be universal, but my experiences in middle/high school made me dislike reading books. no joke. i didn't see the point and thought reading the classics was a waste of time. i'm sure that's partially teenager arrogance, but from the conversations i've had with others, reading was rarely framed in a way that stoked intrigue. we're not given the tools to engage with the text so i'm rarely surprised when i see the worst takes imaginable on a piece of media i enjoy from a 14 year old.

i'm still learning myself when it comes to media literacy, it's an ongoing journey. when i read notes from underground for the first time last year i was literally so confused. i can normally read anywhere from 80k-100k words in one day if i'm motivated enough, but NFU, a novella at around 43k words, took me over a week.

i say all this to reassure you that you're not alone!

some advice that comes to mind when reading a dense work:

do some background research on the author. i know teachers hiss at wikipedia for some reason but reading a few paragraphs about the person's life, beliefs, politics, etc really helps put their writing into perspective.

look into the time period it was written. what were the pressing social issues at the time? who was in charge? what conflicts were ongoing/just ended? what was the predominant religion? books don't exist in a vacuum, a lot of the classics are filled with jabs at ideologies the author doesn't like (i'm looking at you, dante).

if the author's from a different country than you, getting a basic grasp on the culture helps a lot. with reading dostoevsky specifically, historical events like the emancipation of the serfs was an entirely new concept to my american brain.

not everything is going to make sense. sometimes the cultural/historical layers go so deep you'd need to have been alive at the time to immediately get it. fortunately, there are nerds with degrees in book who do extensive research and can give insight. i'll think i maybe understand a book okay, go to read a journal article on it, and go ??????? wat???? page 632 paragraph 3 references euclid's optics?? how was i supposed to know that.

finally, you're not going to like every book you read, even if it's well written. there's a difference between persevering and actively torturing yourself with words. if you dread picking it up again, there are other books to check out instead. there are some classics that i don't care for much (some of edgar allen poe's short stories, the fall by albert camus, no longer human by dazai osamu, to name a few).

ask yourself questions while reading. why did this character do that? is there a reoccurring motif throughout the work, and if so, why might the author be trying to highlight that? what perspective is the work from? is the protagonist lucid, are they an unreliable narrator? what themes are being explored here?

i hope some of this helps dsfhgkdjshgks there's a lot to be said on the subject but i didn't want this post to be miles long.

[itsaspectrumcomic]

hi im really sorry to bother you, and obvs you dont need to answer this at all im just some internet guy lol but do you think i could get some advice?

so ive been diagnosed with autism for like, 5 years (was diagnosed p late, in comparison to others) and im beginning to have some real goddamn big suspicions that i Also have adhd (because. yaknow. the gift that keeps on giving yk? lol). i have a lot of really major issues with executive dysfunction that is directly impacting schoolwork and also a lot of stuff in my life, generally. ive also got a lot of memory issues nd junk

and the thing is; ive got a therapist, but due to a whole slew of things im really scared to like, bring this up with her yk? and, like, im a minor so i cant exactly just seek it out myself yk? and i cant really talk to my parents about it because my mom is a very specific kind of vaguely ableist and my dad generally just isnt involved with that whole section of my being, yk? like, he doesnt manage any of my therapy, aside from bringing me to appointments when my mother isnt available.

and like, ive brought certain things UP to my therapist before and it went mostly ok, aside from one pretty distressing misunderstanding but it feels different for this one because i really do need medication for this, i feel. and thats a whole thing with my mother specifically, since at the start of the whole diagnosis process she outright refused the idea of medication and like. idk man, im so super sorry to write a whole bullshit essay when you're literally just vibing but yk. idk who else to ask lol, and you seem like you know what youre doing i guess?

real sorry. thanks in advance. insert other applicable signoff message here

I'm sorry you're struggling with this. Your therapist should be someone you can talk to about things like this but I understand being anxious about it. Are you afraid to bring it up because she's said ableist/anti-adhd stuff in the past or you have reason to suspect she won't help? If that's the case I really recommend trying to get a different therapist if you can. You deserve a therapist you feel safe sharing things like this with.

If it's impacting schoolwork it might be worth talking to your teachers to see if there's any additional support you can get from them. You don't have to tell them you suspect ADHD if you don't want to, you can just tell them you've been struggling with certain aspects of school and hopefully they can help. School is hard for lots of people so know you're not alone.

It might be different where you live, but in the UK you're able to make your own doctors appointments if you're over 16 so asking a doctor about getting a referral for a diagnosis/medication could be an option as well. Although waiting lists for that are incredibly long at the moment - I've personally been waiting nearly a year just to get an appointment 🙃

In the meantime, have you heard of How to ADHD on YouTube? Her channel has lots of videos with advice and various discussions about living with ADHD which you might find helpful.

Sorry I don't know if that helped much but I hope you're able to get support soon!

[hibiscusangel15]

Entity Horror Movie Rec List: The Stranger

The Stranger is an entity that personally freaks me out. I already don’t like interacting with strangers if I can help it, and the idea of a creature completely stripping away all that you are and no one, not even those closest to you, being able to tell the difference is horrifying.

A lot of the movies on this list rightfully feature aliens, specifically those of the shape-shifting or infiltrating society variety, and loss of humanity.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The original nightmare that threatened the world!

I didn’t put a specific year for this one because honestly both the 1956 and 1978 versions are great movies in their own rights. The ‘56 version is a bit cheesy by today’s standards, but honestly, the first time I saw it, I was freaked out by the concept for days after. It’s still pretty effective, in my opinion.

Both versions depict the fear of The Stranger the best of the movies on this list. The infused paranoia of the ‘78 version is near-perfect for it. Noticing something is wrong with the people around you, but not exactly knowing what is something The Stranger adores playing around with. That and clowns, I guess.

Fun fact: The ‘56 version was originally set to have a more miserable ending, but the studio forced the director to shove in some feel-good end instead. I think the more nihilistic ‘78 version revels in that opportunity instead. It also features a cameo by the main character of the original, so it’s almost a self-titled sequel, in a way.

The Thing (1982)

The ultimate in alien terror.

What is there to say about The Thing that hasn’t already been said? Its practical effects are disgusting, grotesque, and unlike anything that has come before (or since). My favorite John Carpenter movie bar-none. Everyone from Kurt Russel to Keith David to even the dog is so good in this movie.

The main characters getting picked off by a bloodthirsty creature that can look like any one of them at any time makes this movie a paranoia-fueled, tense nightmare and I love it. They work through who among them (lol) might be an alien in really smart ways. It has quite a bit of body horror and nasty practical effects, but I would still recommend you watch this anyway.

Games like Among Us are heavily inspired by its premise (and I think InnerSloth credits this movie directly for inspiration). If you haven’t seen The Thing (1982) yet, I cannot recommend this movie enough. Just watch it.

IT

Listen, a movie rec list covering The Stranger wouldn’t be complete without some reference to clowns or the circus. What shape-shifting, fear-hungry clown suits this Entity better than Pennywise? If you say the Killer Klowns from Outer Space, I stg...

Obvious references to Tumblr’s obsession with 2017′s Pennywise aside, both iterations of Stephen King’s IT are fun in different ways. Tim Curry’s 1990 mini-series Pennywise is a lot goofier while still being off-putting while Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise leans more towards being sinister.

Both operate like a creature of The Stranger, in that they lure in their victims with something seemingly innocent and familiar before flipping it into something unfamiliar and wrong. Literally the definition of stranger danger.

To be honest (and I think most people agree), the kids’ half of the story is way more fun than the adult stuff. It: Chapter Two’s cast is fantastic, but it doesn’t totally save the latter half of the story being a bit laughable compared to what their kid versions faced. Probably because (spoilers) they literally bully Pennywise to death. Like how can you not find that fucking hilarious what the fuck.

(Spoilers over) Obligatory clown/circus-related movie lol. They’re both set in different time periods, which reflect different kinds of fears of the time. The 1990 version is set in the 1950s/1970s and the 2017 version is set in the 1980s/2010s. I think both are worth a watch, though you can watch whichever you feel like and you’ll get pretty much the same experience.

They Live (1988)

If I had a nickel for every time John Carpenter made a movie in the 80s about aliens disguising themselves as human, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.

All jokes aside, They Live is a horror-comedy that definitely leans more into the comedy and social commentary than horror. Whether you find the alien designs horrifying is more personal preference (I find them kinda goofy), but what they set out to accomplish is still pretty relevant today.

Even the regular humans in this movie fail to trust each other or are immediately shut down when they try. It also has one of the LONGEST fight scenes I’ve ever seen in my life (it’s kinda hilarious how long it goes on tbh). Definitely recommend if you need something light to start off with.

Under the Skin (2013)

“You don't want to wake up, do you?”

I will admit, Under the Skin is an artsy film that will not be to everyone’s tastes, but I think it’s accessible enough for those new to horror to try out, too. It definitely requires subtitles if you have trouble understanding thick accents, though.

Under the Skin is about an alien disguised as a human woman luring unsuspecting men to her domain. What ends up happening to them is something I don’t want to spoil. The imagery is so haunting and surreal that it’s hard for me to describe, anyway.

I also think it’s an interesting look into what an alien (or in TMA, any Entity-born creature) might do if it wanted to look beyond its purpose and join humanity. Think Agnes Montague if she was an Avatar of The Stranger instead of The Desolation, I suppose. It’s as tragic as it is unsettling.

END

That’s it for The Stranger! Most of these are classics that most people have seen, but I still feel like these are very fitting.

If you guys want a Part 2, I could definitely delve into movies that dive more into Uncanny Valley territory. I want these rec lists to be more a crash course into horror rather than digging deep into the weirder stuff I’ve seen (just yet).

More Entity rec lists:

The Eye

[foldingfittedsheets]

rando looking for art advice if that's okay :p

I've always wanted to be able to draw cool things for myself, in the same way some of my friends can(they're REALLY good). and I know in order to do that I just gotta draw a lot, practice makes perfect, I'm gonna suck for a while but drawing more means I'll improve. yeah, yeah, I know all that.

but I'm finding it hard to get it started, to get motivated enough to draw. cuz sometimes I'll be like "I wanna draw", and then I draw and it sucks and I'm like "I don't wanna draw :("

do you have any tips for a beginner? not technical art tips, just like how do I get started or get motivated to start. are there tutorials you can recommend(I'm good at following instructions)? or things I can draw that are easy if you're starting out? or just whatever advice.

thanks :p

So, as far as motivation I think I might just be a lil freak, but I draw because I actively like to draw. Even when I wasn't very good, I felt compelled to put pen to paper just for the act of creation so my first piece of advice (besides practice) is just: Make art because you want to and try to divorce whether it's good or not from your enjoyment in that act.

My second piece of advice is that the first year of art school is three critical tools that are really boring but really helpful. The first one is perspective. If you can nail perspective, just dumb lines leading back in space, it does so much heavy lifting for you.

The second tool is sight measuring. Have you ever seen artists doing that stupid thing with their pencil or paintbrush while closing one eye? It's literally so helpful. If you are drawing say a tree, and you drop an imaginary vertical line from a branch you can figure our if your drawing of that tree is awry. When you get good at sight measuring it becomes second nature to do those checks, even in digital art, but it's easy to forget. When I'm doing my little 20 minute speed paints I'm constantly sight measuring to keep stuff in proportion.

The last piece is that practicing drawing from life will improve your drawing so much faster than anything else. Doodling your favorite pokemon or anime character over and over won't be as helpful as boring ass still lifes. Seeing how light reacts, observing the objects form, and practicing sight measuring will all help you improve as an artist.

As tax, I'm going to share a couple examples of schoolwork. This was my first class in perspective. This is how much I improved in a three month period, my first middle and last assignment.

These are from my form class, no lines allowed we needed to use value to describe the form. We did charcoal and gouache so here's me trying to show my progression in that class.

These are just freshman work, from my very first semester. Honestly I have a whole folder of all my assignments so I can scroll through and actively see myself improving, and I highly recommend that too, because it's wildly motivational to see how far you've come!

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/14-10/15/2024: JUNGLE HOLOCAUST and HOLOCAUST 2000

For these two days I chose two Italian movies that featured the word "holocaust", end of the world scenarios, primordial caves, gross awkward sex, and Massimo Foschi. If you think I put a lot of thought into this, you'd be wrong! But one of these movies was a lot better than I expected, and one was much weirder, so that's a net positive.

If you heard the title JUNGLE HOLOCAUST and the name Ruggero Deodato in the same sentence, you might fairly assume that the infamous Italian director made a second movie about a white Westerner fighting off man-eating primitives to capitalize on the notoriety of his name-making 1980 video nasty CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. But you would be wrong! Though to be fair, I'm not sure when his 1977 movie LAST CANNIBAL WORLD got that alternative title--like if it was for home video releases after 1980, or if JUNGLE HOLOCAUST really was Deodato's first "holocaust" title. I'm curious about the use of that word in exploitation movies in general; post-1980 genre films would certainly be trying to associate themselves with CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, but what meaning did it have for exploitation producers in the 1970s? Obviously it was enough for two different groups (Erre Cinematografica, and Titanus and The Rank Organization, respectively) would put out JUNGLE HOLOCAUST and HOLOCAUST 2000 the same year. I'm not even sure how to estimate the place the actual-Holocaust held in the public consciousness at the time; it wasn't even a lifetime away in the '70s, but we know how the events of past decades can suddenly, crazily seem like literally-ancient history to younger people. The Frankfurt Auschwitz trials took place in the mid-60s, which I mention just to say that Holocaust-related legal processes were ongoing for some time. Evidence of ongoing processing in the collective unconscious can be found in the nazploitation boom of 1976-77; MARATHON MAN was '76 and THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL was '78.. JUNGLE HOLOCAUST and HOLOCAUST 2000 have little or nothing to do with the events of WWII, but so I don't know if that I've added anything meaningful with this rant; I'm just curious about it.

Um anyway. JUNGLE HOLOCAUST is a much better movie than you probably think it is. Massimo Foschi plays an oil prospector who gets stranded in Malaysia and captured by cannibals, whereupon he forces cavewoman Me Me Lai to help him fight his way back to civilization. Of course, it bears all the hallmarks of its fairly-maligned genre--extreme racial caricatures, extreme rape, extreme animal cruelty, and extreme gut-munching--but it's also surprisingly good, if you can eat around that stuff. Foschi's stay in the cannibal caves is like a Boschian fever dream, beautifully photographed with a fascinating soundscape to match, and there's a certain subversive power in the way the gleeful cannibals dominate Foschi--and by proxy, the viewer. Sadly I haven't been able to remember who, but one critic pointed out that the cannibal movies (of which JUNGLE is only the second, though really the first recognizable one) are usually sun-drenched affairs, which makes the chiaroscuro imagery of the cave quite unusual.

It's also worth saying that Foschi really lives this adventure. I mean of course he wasn't really kidnapped by cannibals, but he really spends the whole movie nude or nearly so, really braved the hostile jungle with its leech-infested waters for the shoot, really eats everything from beetles to putrid offal, really spars with an angry toucan. In a way JUNGLE HOLOCAUST has more in common with some forms of experimental theater than it does with a regular old exploitation movie. It is the real deal, and I recommend it if you have the stomach for it.

HOLOCAUST 2000, on the other hand, is like, all crazy. This is going to be spoilery, but probably the best way to discuss this movie is to tease out how convoluted it is. Kirk Douglas plays entrepreneur Robert Caine who plans to open a nuclear power plant near a sacred cave in Israel, amid protests and prophecies of doom. Foschi plays a madman who tries to kill him, in one of a series of events suggesting that the power plant is going to trigger the apocalypse described in the Book of Revelations. The plant itself, which seems semi-sentient, is likened to the Biblical Beast of the Sea with all its destructive power, and there's a pretty fun dream sequence about this...but then there's a separate prophecy about how Caine's seed (ew!) will beget the Antichrist, which presumably comes about when he knocks up a girl reporter (Agostina Belli), who then starts acting more or less like Damien in THE OMEN. But then also there's the matter of Caine's androgynous adult son Angel (Simon Ward), who strangled his twin brother in the womb, and there's some hemming and hawing about which twin embodied goodness and which one embodied evil, for whatever reason. So there's sort of two Antichrists in this movie? I don't know. There's a lot going on.

I don't feel great about this, but I cannot avoid talking about the graphic sex scene between 30 year old Agostina Belli and Kirk Douglas, who is 61 and looks even older. We all know that the entertainment industry prefers to take "an old American fossil and put it next to some young rising star," as Sergio Martino put it; I'm forever thinking about Maggie Gyllenhaal losing a role because she was told she was too old to play Clint Eastwood's girlfriend. But even so, I think we rarely or never see naked Clint Eastwood in bed with his too-young costars, and HOLOCAUST 2000 offers the startling and protracted spectacle of Kirk Douglas's wrinkly, hairy, mottled old fingers roving over Agostina Belli's young, poreless flesh. It's really intense and I don't know how the audience is supposed to feel about it exactly; the dialog occasionally concedes that she's too young for him, but it really feels more like he's too old for HER, and the prophecies about his "seed" made you think, you know, a guy in his 60s might not be able to give a woman a very healthy baby. That's a thing, whether we talk about it or not. But I really started to wonder if it would change anything if there were always graphic sex scenes in movies that have a male lead who is 50+ and a love interest who is 20 years or more his junior. If viewers always had to see the guy's aged body pressed against the dramatically different-looking woman, it might be a helpful visual representation of how problematic these casting decisions are. Like unless the story is really focused on how two people in love overcome a gap in age/experience/health/etc--or unless the story is specifically about gerontophilia--people should either stop doing this, or be more frank about what they're proposing.

[tauforged]

do you have any tips for someone who wants to get into warframe for the first time?

- don’t start with the duviri/drifter quest when given the option. it’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but it will be very confusing and you won’t revisit any of the stuff that’s touched upon until way way later in the game. start off in the origin system, the story progresses a lot more naturally from that start point. i don’t really know why they made this an option.

- you dont HAVE to buy platinum. they start you off with like 50 i think? it’s not necessary for anything aside from buying additional warframe/weapon slots. everything else is cosmetic or optional. you can get mroe plat later on by trading with other players (if you do want to buy plat for cosmetics or whatever, i recommend waiting until you get a discount as your daily login bonus. iirc they range from 25, 50, or 75% off. they’re pretty much entirely random though so don’t feel obligated to use one if you do get it and don’t need plat at the moment so it goes to waste. you’ll get another)

- even if you decide you don’t like a weapon you end up crafting, you’ll be better off if you level it up to the maximum rank (30) before selling it rather than trashing it outright, that way you won’t have to go back and get it again later on in the game in order to complete it. the more stuff you level in full, the faster you progress through mastery ranks, and some stuff is mastery rank locked so you’re gonna wanna pay attention to your progress.

- you’re gonna wanna join a clan as soon as possible. you can find some via the recruiting channel, or probably by asking around on social media, idk. i started my own (not recommended unless you’ve got a group of friends you can rally or feel like recruiting to fill out your ranks in order to actually get stuff done) so i don’t really know what the clan recruiting scene looks like. having access to a clan dojo makes life a lot easier (and can make finding people to play with less of a hassle too)

- the story itself doesn’t really pick up steam until you start the ‘natah’ quest. in between the start and there, you’ll mostly be doing a lot of running around trying to familiarize yourself with the setting and playing catch-up. don’t worry too much about all the stuff they throw at you all at once. almost all the quests are replayable through your codex if you ever want to refresh your memory, and for those that aren’t, the wiki is… usually a pretty decent source as far as summaries go. i’d take it with a grain of salt though.

- this one especially tripped my sister up so i’m gonna touch on it: you’re going to be required to do the ‘heart of deimos’ quest in order to progress past mars on the star chart. IMHO, this quest REALLY should not be mandatory so early on in the game — you aren’t going to be able to make heads or tails of anything anyone is telling you. don’t be afraid to breeze thru it w/o paying much attention and circle back around later in the game, preferably sometime after you finish the war within or at LEAST the second dream. i genuinely don’t know why they’re throwing baby tenno to the wolves on this one. just know it’ll all make sense later i prommy

- don’t worry too much about the open world areas like the orb vallis, the plains of eidolon, or the cambion drift at first. they’re very cool (and you’ll be introduced to them via their respective quests) but they can be overwhelming to new players and the difficulty spike might be frustrating, especially before you’ve unlocked a majority of the tools available to you.

- this game has been ongoing for over ten years at this point - there’s a LOT going on. take your time progressing at a comfortable pace. don’t be afraid to ask around for help if you’re stuck on something or getting frustrated trying to farm a specific part or material.

- if people try to talk down on you for being a lower mastery rank or w/e they’re literally just being an asshole. MR isn’t indicative of skill so much as it is a representation of how much gear you’ve leveled, which is basically just an indicator of how much time you’ve spent playing - a chimp smacking a keyboard can feasibly hit legendary after enough attempts. you’re fine. hell, i’ve been here since 2013 and i’m only MR 19 LMAO

- the ‘meta’ for this game is wildly subjective due to the vast customizability of builds. take everyone’s opinions with several grains of salt and don’t be afraid to experiment on your own to see what works for you

- dont read general chat. it’s not worth it. nobody in there is as funny as they think they are

- the most important part of being a tenno is having fun and being yourself :)