#just a reminder that we are alters and these are not character drawings!

[nyandela-catalogue]

drew some stuff and watched some silly videos. feeling a bit less crummy. i love Jonah❤️

-Adam📹

[malformed-encephalon]

☆ACTIVITIES FOR INSYS PARTNERS!

okay i promise we'll make the new scp layout for our tumblr soon, it'll just be a while😭 anyways! we decided to make a list of things for insys partners to do when fronting (coming from two alters who've been together for over a year!)

to make things easier, i (🎩 proxy) will be writing in plain white, and my partner (🕯 proxy) will be using blue.

we have also made sure that polyamorous partners will also be capable of doing all the things in this list. whilst we are not poly ourselves, we understand others very well may be.

singing with eachother! be it by taking turns with each verse, picking songs for eachother to sing, singing different characters in songs with multiple characters, etcetera, singing is something we do a lot! (we did it a few minutes ago :D)

making a music playlist together! with us, we made a playlist together full of love songs/songs that remind us of eachother and the relationship we have

write poems for/with eachother! you could write separate poems, you could work together to make a poem, or you could write one stanza each about eachother until it's a full poem

helping eachother to get through work you have for the day. if you attend school, you could change who the main fronter is every lesson. if you have work, you could change every hour or so. overall, take fronting shifts, and when you aren't the main fronter, stay in co-front to talk to eachother. we find it makes the day pass far quicker whilst also motivating us. if you have a frontspace, you can also interact with eachother throughout the day/when you aren't the main fronter. with us, we'll occasionally share kisses, and since we have a sofa in our frontspace, we'll either sit next to eachother, or on the other's lap.

making food together! you could bake, cook, or do anything really :) a personal favorite of ours is sandwiches and soup!

watching something together. you could watch a tv show, a movie, a video, a series, anything that comes to mind. we personally enjoy watching analog horror together. and laughing when the other gets scared. that too.

playing games together is a good one! you could switch players every few minutes/hours depending on the game, or switch players every time you die. that or you can have one person play as the other talks to them/advises them on what to do (this goes for every activity!)

drawing yourselves together is a nice one aswell! you could draw yourselves together in an actual art piece, or just as doodles (we're planning on drawing ourselves as cats later so we can have matching profiles, tell us if you wanna see!) you can also draw eachother if you're fronting alone and are missing them

match profiles! if you use any logging/proxy tool, you can make your bios, layouts, banners, pfps and all that lot match :D we have matching layouts, banners, quotes, and plan on having matching profiles.

this list will grow when we think of more, have fun!

-🎩 & 🕯

[maya-morphosis]

Venting about the new casting decision for Snape

As some of y’all may know, I have several accounts dedicated entirely to Severus Snape. I’ve never connected so deeply with a fictional character before. There’s something about him that fascinates me endlessly—I love discovering new details about his personality, coming up with headcanons, drawing him, and just… living in his world. I relate to him on a really profound level. Honestly, I’m very much autistically obsessed with him.

But lately, I haven’t been able to find the same comfort in him as I used to. And it’s because of the new casting decision.

From the beginning, I hated the idea of this remake. I hate remakes in general, I hate J.K. Rowling, and I think this whole reboot is a massive waste of money and creativity. Still, the one thing that kept me mildly curious—maybe even a little excited—was the thought of seeing my favorite character brought to life in a fresh and possibly deeper way.

Then came the rumors. When I first heard people talking about a Black actor being cast as Severus, I scoffed. I told those around me it was probably just fake news meant to stir up engagement online. I even joked that if anything, he’d probably be Kingsley Shacklebolt, not Snape.

But then it was confirmed.

And I’m honestly embarrassed to admit how much it affected me. I haven’t been able to engage with anything Harry Potter-related since. I feel angry—not because of the actor’s race, but because of the blindness and laziness in these creative decisions. When are we going to understand that race is not just about skin color? It carries history, culture, trauma, and lived experience. As a brown woman, I know firsthand what racism feels like. I’ve been bullied—by friends and even family—for the color of my skin.

Changing Snape’s race changes his character entirely. The Harry Potter universe is already deeply flawed: it’s racist, misogynistic, and lacks meaningful representation. This isn’t new. But I truly thought we had moved forward.

I feel disturbed, and honestly kind of ashamed. I’ve had to remind myself over and over again that it’s just fiction.

Why Snape, though? His appearance is one of the most iconic in the whole series—his greasy black hair, his hooked nose, his pale skin. These aren’t just superficial traits; they symbolize who he is: a man shaped by poverty, trauma, neglect, and bullying at the hands of wealthy white purebloods.

Why not choose a character whose story wouldn’t be fundamentally altered by such a change? Why not build a new character, with new stories and experiences, instead of erasing the core of an existing one?

Fuck these series and fuck jk Rowling. What a fucking joke

[quibbs126]

So some more sketches from my AU, from yesterday and this morning

On the left, we have Elita and my constant struggle with her, as always. You know the drill. I had to write "stop it" so I'd give up this endeavor for now and move on. I think that's when I switched over to drawing the Megatron ref yesterday

I wonder if maybe giving her a full body design would help me? Because I mean, Optimus and Megatron started out with those, even if I only use the top half. And I'm convinced I draw her proportions wrong anyways

But other than that, you can see I'm thinking of moving her cones to her top horns instead of her side. I like them on the side, but I think they're part of the thing holding me back, along with potentially her glasses

I spent my shift on Monday drawing various Elita head designs I found to see if I could find anything that could stick. I'm too lazy to take a picture of it right this second, but it's probably why I was trying to give her another shot in her design

But moving on, I also tried drawing Blackarachnia, since I was reminded recently that Sentinel is supposed to be associated with the spider ladies, and because a thing I gave one of my Elita designs I thought would look good on a spider character, namely the side triangle things

I kind of like the design I gave her, but I do also wonder if I'm just sticking to the first thing I thought of. I don't think it's bad though. I would like her head to be more trapezoid though

But her colors on the other hand definitely need some work, because I was not sure what to do with them. I knew I wanted to incorporate black and gold, mostly because I love her Beast Wars design the most, at least color wise, but I also thought it'd be good to incorporate the purples and reds too. And then I was just trying to move colors around until I got something that actually looked cohesive together. But I don't know if I like it this way. I think one thing I want is for her to have gold eyes and a darker "skin" tone, but I didn't know how to incorporate it

She's probably going to need more time to cook

As for her role in the story? I really don't know, other than being connected to Sentinel

When I made this, my mental thought was that she was Sentinel's complicated love interest. But that wasn't my initial idea, and she's supposed to have some connection with his old partner. I don't know if I want to keep the TFA idea of BA having once been his partner, thought dead but is actually still alive, but I also don't want to keep the initial idea that she ate his old partner, because why would he ever be interested in her after that?

And there was also me thinking on what Airachnid and Blackarachnia should be in this story, particularly with their differences between each other, like how Airachnid is a fully techno bot that just looks spider-like in her robot form, while Blackarachnia is a techno-organic who turns into a full-on spider. So I feel like if I were to make both connected to Sentinel's lost partner, Airachnid would make more sense as the one eaten, and Blackarachnia the one who ate her, since she's the more animalistic one. But that doesn't really jive with how Airachnid is usually the eviler of the two

I'm really not sure what I want to do with the spider ladies, I think they need more time in the oven lore wise as well. And I need to figure out if I want both or not. And who Sentinel's dead partner was, because I also had the idea of them being built alongside Sentinel, being more like a sibling, but dying soon after, possibly due to malfunctions in their systems. But I'm not sure about that, leaves little room for the spiders

But moving on from them, we also have Kiloton, who honestly I half feel like slightly altering the name of. Like my brain sometimes corrects it to Kilotron, which I like a bit more but I'm also aware is even closer to Megatron's name

I tried to give him a design here, and I don't think it's horrible, though maybe it needs a bit more work. Granted, I am working with very little when it comes to his design, given how basic the original Kiloton is, but oh well

I was going to give him his silver/grey, but it didn't look right with all his other colors, so I changed it to that sort of brassy color. I think I like it a lot more

But it was with him that I realized I probably need to adhere a bit closer to the Mega Man style, because I am simplifying it more than I need to, at least anatomy wise, and it could look a lot better if I did

Will I change? I don't really know, because I'm lazy and I like how I'm drawing them now. But maybe I should practice Mega Man characters too to get a feel for this style I'm trying to evoke. Well, I say style, I more mean the designs and robot things rather than things like how the face is drawn or stuff like that

But anyways, I do have more on Kiloton than I do Blackarachnia, but I don't really have all his essential details down

What I do know is that he and Megatron used to be a thing, though unfortunately Kiloton ended up dying. Details later

But they first met around the time Megatron first got infected. At that point, after whatever event caused him to get infected, he ended up wandering around the wastes of Cybertron, mangled from whatever battles he had been in, and with his processor on the fritz from the virus, until he eventually collapsed. Kiloton ended up finding him and nursing him back to health, as he only saw a damaged bot in need of help

I'm also thinking maybe Kiloton was the one to give Megatron his purple gem, or that when he had found him, his initial gem was broken, or whatever was in that place before it

Kiloton was the first bot Megatron met while infected, and so he never really felt the need to do violence onto this bot, which surprised him at the time. His time with Kiloton and the time after he had recovered was the start of his new life with a clear mind not clouded by violent thoughts, and it gave Kiloton a special significance to Megatron, even if Kiloton wasn't aware of this

It's the time after this that I don't really have the details on. I want to say that while Kiloton helps fight Decepticons, he's not necessarily part of the Autobot force, possibly some other independent party from them. And he's also a support bot as opposed to a field bot. I also don't know when he and Megatron went their separate ways or even if they did, and when their relationship turned romantic

And while I also don't know the circumstances, I do know that eventually, Kiloton died, and Megatron was the one who had to kill him. I'm not sure Kiloton got infected with the virus, he might have fought Megatron on his own terms, after something Megatron did despite his protests. I'm not sure, but Megatron was forced to kill him, and it weighs heavily on him

I also think that at this point in time, Optimus had feelings for Megatron, but didn't act on them because of his relationship with Kiloton, and it was only sometime after that they got together. Optimus was probably also the person to help Megatron deal with the death of Kiloton, as he took the event pretty hard, but I don't want to say Optimus used this as an opportunity to come in with his own romantic feelings, as I don't imagine Optimus would ever be that selfish. Megatron was his friend in need first, even if he had feelings for him at the time. I also don't know how long afterwards that they got together

I also think now with the addition of Kiloton, I may need to slightly tweak Optimus and Megatron's dynamic, because now Megatron had someone before Optimus. Also maybe Optimus needs some tragedy, because Megatron and Sentinel both have some while he doesn't really have any at this point

But yeah, those are the current updates to this AU. Not much solid, but some new things

Though if I'm being honest, I'm debating now how much people care for this AU. Maybe I'm being egotistical, but I don't know, I was kind of sad that my last two reference drawings for them have basically gotten no attention, and same with other more recent posts about it

It's making me think people are sick of this, particularly since AU ideas tend to die out with me, but like, this time I'm actually holding onto an idea, and I don't want it to die like all the rest. Do I just need to give it time and eventually people will come around, or are people genuinely sick of this and sick of me trying to do anything here, particularly with my bad looking designs and me butting in on things I have no real knowledge of? Or am I just being egotistical and annoyed that I'm not getting as much attention as I want, despite there not actually being a problem?

I don't know, I just wish someone would tell me what I'm doing wrong

[mauve-ic]

Ok so, a week ago I made a post saying I would maybe do a redesign of Lancelot. Here it is, a bit failed because I had an exam week in the last 7 days so don't pay attention to Lancelot, less than failed, face.

First of all, I made him have an undershirt because my poor baby must be so cold in winter. It was gifted by Tristan who had the same reasoning as me. It's a white shirt with long sleeves, with little details in red on the arms. The wings drawing and details are made with silver strands ( in one of the books of the Arthurian Legend, I think it was in Tristan and Iseult, we can see a character sewing a piece of their own hair into the thread they're using for embroidery. I think it would add to their closeness if Tristan do it.) The drawings on the back are to symbolise his mother's side ( and because it's extremely funny to me to have a sort of coquette undershirt when the whole style is badass as f ).

I didn't put the buttons on his sweatshirt because it didn't make any sense to have any. Other than that I didn't change anything.

I made him have a blue collar like in his fox self because I thought it was cool to have it but I didn't know where it was coming from.

Of course FANGS. He has a fox appearance, his father has fangs, so I want him to have some too. Again with his father's genes, he's tall, very tall, 2m02 at least.

Now to the technical alterations.

We cannot see it clearly but I made him have arm protections on the interior of his (usual) spot for arrows. On both arms because he should be able to use his bow in both ways since he learnt to be ambidextrous.

I made him have a sort of glove to protect his fingers while pulling on the string of his bow, it's a protection we use nowadays but even before I think. Something we only use now ( still I think because I'm not an historian but I didn't find any information on it, maybe because I only know the name of it in french, but even when I looked up archery accessories it didn't pop up so if anyone knows what it's called in English please tell me), it's a little string which attach to your index finger and your thumb so even if you let go of your bow ( which you're supposed to do while pulling on the string), you don't lose it. Again, I made him have both on both hands since he should be able to shoot in both ways.

His fox self ( even if we can't really tell here ) is really red, and he looks more like a fox and bigger. I didn't change that his eyes are closed, because I don't want another look at this nightmare which is a fox with human eyes ever again.

To finish, I'm going back to the undershirt. The little details on the sleeve are just a decorative choice. But the ribbons have a purpose, still to make it look coquette but also to make the shirt more fitting. If I learnt one thing with my 6 years of archery is that you shouldn't be shooting an arrow if you're wearing baggy clothes: a dress, a sweater, a little too big shirt, it will have a risk of getting stuck in the string. Even more if you don't shoot with both feet on the ground and with a good position. Lancelot does stunts and acrobatics all the time, it would be more likely to happen to him than me or any other archer now. I made the ribbons longer to be able to see it but he would probably just stick it in his trousers to not be bothered by it. I see Lancelot as someone very practical: he has the same clothes from 6 years ago, he has nothing else on him than practical things like incantation orbs or weapons. In my headcanons, it would be the liones royal family who would take care of him while he searches for Jericho and Dubs, to remind him he is still a kid even if he has responsibilities.

Please notice me if there is anything wrong or if you have something to add because I didn't re read myself and I would love to talk to someone about a subject I like (:

[schizoclock]

I wish the creepypasta fandom was more educated on fictives/irls and such. I’ve friends with a bunch of fictive and stuff and if they don’t third talk themselves they get jumped. “UR NOT THE CHARACTER “ i know ??? A fictive is an alter that formed of a character???. An irl is someone who believes they’re a fictional character in real life. An a fictkin is someone who has memories and strongly identifies with a character. Also the passive source shaming is insane in this fandom.”well that’s not canon” “uhm well actually clockwork is-!” ?? I’m not the character?? “Uhm I don’t like how you draw Nina :/“ “I don’t like that ship”

Also people need to realize that source attachment exist. My friend expressed not being comfortable with Ninakate even stating in a post that it was a fictive. And everyone took it personally. So hey guys! Fictives are allowed to be uncomfortable with stuff and expressed ! Just a. Friendly reminder

Same goes for you being respectful towards us. “Ew I hate ticciwork” “I don’t like how you draw clockwork I prefer——“ well I can’t control what I remember and what I don’t 😭 please can we start being normal towards fictives and such

[charl0ttan]

As you recommend in your bio, I listened to The Glow, and have written down my thoughts, track-by-track, in order to tell you about it.

For some background, prior to this, I didn't exactly know what a "dreampop" was, if you asked me to describe it in a somewhat derogatory tone, a manor using only references to nineteenth century opera, I'd probably say "The overture to Wagner's Das Rheingold, if it was composed using a I--V--vi--IV progression."

Anyway, bad jokes aside, the album:

Can of Worms

flaI promise I wrote that Wagner joke before the opening of this song, but, it is distinctly reminiscent of the prelude to Das Rheingold, albeit more synthetic, and with a bit of talking in one ear, but that drone, with the strings above it, it's hard not to draw a comparison when you were just talking about Wagner a few pages ago.

Then, at one minuet in, my point of reference jumps forwards two hundred years, to be precise, the drums, those snare roles are distinctive, and remind me very much of Cosmo Sheldrake's first studio album The Much Much How How & I, and, I fucking love that album, so, we're off to a good start.

Intro and drums aside, to be honest, I find this quite, what's the word, uncharismatic, it doesn't feel like there's very much going on, which I say, and then the song hits three minuets and twenty seconds, and I am proven very wrong. (I'm writing as I listen, it's an unavoidable issue)

To pivot to the lyrics, normally, I'm quite, what's the phrase, discouraged, by this kind of repetitive lyrics, but, I think they work here, it's quite, what's the word, atmospheric.

But a Poem

This, it does not sound like it could be odd, but it does sound odd, hold on, words, is is conventional in performance, but, the production techniques employed, in particular, the reverb, and its alteration throughout the track, are anything but.

Open Your Eyes

You know, I didn't expect this kind of synthesiser use, there's been plenty of background electronic material so far, but, it pushing to the for was not a direction I expected it to go.

Every time I've gone to comment on one of these songs dragging a bit so far, it's always switched itself up at exactly that moment, which, I suppose is a good thing, I could say maybe this and Can of Worms could've used maybe a bit of cutting-down, to tighten them up, but, I won't, I don't think being "tight" would exactly work with this kind of music.

All in all, I quite like this one.

The Dreamers

On finally, I've been wanting a good drum-fill for a while now, and this delivers, it's no YYZ, but, it's still pretty good.

When talking about Open Your Eyes, I said I was surprised by foreground synthesiser, and now, I'm surprised by foreground guitar, it appears I know very little about a genre I know nothing about.

Grand New Spin

I'm going to be honest, I have nothing to say about this one, it's perfectly cromulent, it just blends in with the other tracks a bit much, when talking about Open Your Eyes, I said the album had managed to catch itself just when it was about to become somewhat monotonous each time so far, and this song does not, it makes no attempt to, and, that does seem quite deliberate, it does work as, shall we say, connective tissue, between the tracks on the album, but, I'm in no rush to listen to it again.

Time of Your Life

There's that guitar again, it's quite... distinctive, it does make the song stand out quite a bit.

To make a third musical reference, I'm hearing some early Ringo in those drums, or perhaps a tambourine.

This might well be my favourite track of the album so far, it, put simply, has more going on, it's distinctive, it does something the others don't, that being distorted guitar.

Pastures

I feel like I'm in a lift (Or as the Americans/Roald Dahl say: elevator) in an indie game with a mix between hand-drawn characters, extruded into three dimensions, and voxel art environments, which attempts to make a point about mental health, but the writers clearly didn't all agree on what exactly that point was, leading to it being muddled, however some claim that itself is a statement about either the inherent issues with a collaborative creative process, or a pastiche of shit indie games.

Is This What You Could Not Do?

Oh fucking finally, a slightly up-tempo, so to speak, track, I know, it's a odd complaint to make in a genera called "dreampop" but, one has to have some degree of variety.

It's even got Fun New Sounds, which I would describe, but, I fear the onomatopoeia would get far too silly.

You and I

Honestly, this is another Grand New Spin, it's fine, I liked it, I just have nothing in particular to say about it, that I haven't said about the other tracks.

On the Brink

I've got to say, after being so excited about that drum fill intro on The Dreamers, they're starting to get a little played little over done, and as I say that, the song's done

The Start of Something Beautiful

I'll say this, it's an interesting way to end an album, as a rule, one would want to end an album with a bang, this is, well, not that, it is, largely, more of the same, but, to be honest, I cannot imagine another way this album would end, other than to fade out like this.

The sampling of speak that can be heard at points is a pretty clear callback to Can of Worms, which does make the album feel somewhat circular.

The main element I didn't mention in any of those, for the sake of leaving it until the end, as I suspected it would be consistent throughout the album., is the vocals.

I won't mince words here, they were the element of the album I enjoyed the least.

I've criticise music for having nothing to say before, that is, music that attempts to have a Message, but skirts around it, or leaves itself open to broad interpretation, presumable to avoid controversy, or to broaden the commercial appeal of the music, but, The Glow does not suffer from this, I presume, as I cannot understand a word of it, without paying Very Close Attention, which, frankly, is not ideal.

This is not because it degrades the album as a whole, to be clear, I did enjoy this album, it is that it failed to elevate it, much can be said about the interplay between the lyrical and instrumental elements of a song, and here, the texture and tone of the voices are more distinct than anything they are saying.

The Glow is an album that would much benefit from having the lyrics to each track actually on the Bandcamp page. (Or from me listening to it on a platform that has the lyrics, assuming there is one)

Other than the lyrics, the one thing I feel the album could have benefited from is some reeds and brass, totally not because I'm a saxophonist, and therefore biased, but in order to, so to speak, break up the texture of the album, add more for one's brain to gnaw on.

All in all, I liked The Glow, will I be seeking out more dreampop? Maybe, which isn't what I wrote the first time, but, since then, I've started a spreadsheet, and it needs entries. (only half-joking)

(tiny bit of context for readers, this was first sent in ages ago, and had to be re-sent, as it got missed)

tysm for listeningg:) yay🫶

[personwithatophat]

TFG ch.7 thoughts

if you havent played the founders game, this wont make sense https://www.thefoundergame.com/chapter-select if you know nothing about generation loss this is still a fun story game to go through! that aside chapter 7 is getting under my skin recently. its general point is to expand on whats really happening. that afterschool slash is a simulation that takes place within the Gen 0 lab and that what were seeing is heavily influenced, ending in our soon to be meeting with the founder. this is the most info grounded ive felt in the game since it started. heres why. The entire game thus far has been very very ambiguous about what were looking at. and this is very intentional. arbitrary details change and shift every other chapter, the map layout of the school is incredibly uncertain, and the whole vibe has been ment to be derealization in theme. the whole game in reaction boiling down to the unreliable narrator rule. daily reminder that genloss has no reliable narrators. but this? we've delt with this. Vision being altered through context and perception. a grandious tearing away of the curtain to see the "truth" behind it all. the technology thats in Gen 1 TSE is consistent with the tech being used in the Gen 0 lab, supporting theories that TSE is sponsored as an off-branch project to the larger generation loss organization. But more importantly, it means we already have notes on how this all might work.

from my notes and my theories

Visions and feeling such as pain can be simulated, but both need a base to work off of. it doesn’t have to be perfect since a “don’t think on it too hard” attitude is practically hot wired in, but it works by trigger.

for example. if i take a wooden pop gun and point it to a filtered character and shoot, that would translate into a hallucinated weapon and a wound.

but it needs that visual to draw over, and that audio or sensation to cue.

it’s convincing the characters so they can convince us.

similarly, a misplaced cue (broken display/trophy case with a branch/knife inside) still attempts to translate but without the time for it to be deliberately written out, the second best option is to just move past it.

an example of being written out is TSE ep 2 where cameras are intentionally removed from filter and we see ranboo both comment and react either not able or not allowed to acknowledge the cameras.

(yes puzzler comments, but that’s for our sake since camera crews couldn’t be avoided on screen, ranboo is camera blind till the end of the ep)

i have more to say but this is already an essay and it’s late so i’m Pt.1 -ing it

remember this is truely Just a theory, it’s not confirmed but this is my very studied interpretation

-Tophat

[sterlingarcher23]

5 colors, 6 cubes... and "Papa" looks like El?

And now some random, not so random thoughts about this:

I mean why does Papa look like El? Maybe....maybe because this isn't Brenner? (And, yes, I put in the 5 and 6 into the image.)

But it's this? A big and small version - probably we have to mirror it as well.

"I could be your zoomer." - "This is Max.":

Superficial it looks as if labeling the character on the right side of El's drawing "Papa" points to Brenner because we're used to Brenner been called that way (like Brenner’s lines about One seem! to point only to Vecna) but it's very typical that you find double or triple meanings in this show. (Btw I think these parallels connects Max to Brenner in another way - look for a "Science Monster" in Season 2.) I mean that drawing of "Papa" doesn't even remotely look like Brenner. Not even close! It looks like an older version of El.

5 colors of the rainbow, 6 cubes. 5 6

And this is were things get interesting.

A girl who is constantly mistaken for a boy and is also trans coded....

LBT (LgBTq). In. Her. Brain.

So, maybe "Papa" is more...um "Mama"? (Um, yeah, I had the same thought it looks like there's ...sperm?) which explains why we see both in this scene. How could El even remember her birth? She's not a Vulcan. This scene is - imo - only a metaphor for the creation of an alter in the mind. "A brilliant kaleidoscope of colors." (script) The connection to Brenner and Terry has probably a different reason - I have some ideas.

Parallel: El screams, Zoomer comes out? - The dog barks and Max comes out.

Um, wait then this is 'DOG'?

(btw El has a drawing of a dog looking up to a rainbow in her room - you see it when Hopper comes into the room who mistook Max as Mike - "Mike isn't here". (Also a subtle pattern btw that things seem to point to Mike. But it isn't about him. It's not Mileven. It's ElMax!)

And if El is DOG, then who is GOD? (Fallout New Vegas gamers may get this DOG / GOD reference.) - 011/Hospital room number 110? - DOG/GOD?

"If I only could make a deal with God." - whoever creates you is your god:

Just saying.

Oh and don't forget what Maxine....sorry, what Max said:

Yes, a metaphor. Although the lines between what they mean literally and what's a metaphor are sometimes a bit blurry in this show.

Creating an alter makes you that alters creator, a father/mother figure in a figurative way, or metaphorically speaking a god. Alters can be in love with one another too. And I like to remind you that "Eleven" is officially based on a character that has DID. I could even name several symptoms of DID that Max shows: blurry vision, depression, suicidal tendencies, feeling detached from your body, able to create/manipulate an inner world (so she's a specific kind of alter)

In other words: they use these characters/elements to tell us the backstory of ElMax metaphorically. Why? Because then it's not a deus ex machina in 5 but a plot that was carefully planned, crafted and dangling in front of you for years. You rewatch the whole thing and "It was directly in front of me."

And I don't expect them to explain a lot of things but reveal the truths and the audience has to put the puzzle pieces of how etc together themselves.

Totally crazy, insane (btw Jamie Campbell Bower called S5 insane), Stranger Things is just pure entertainment....

Symbolism, metaphors, allegories is normal in fiction. And they tell us this straight into our faces with that vampire reference. (so is the Jekyll & Hyde, the Teen Wolf/Werewolf and Frankenstein's monster. Basically all important Universal monsters in one show. I kid you not. It's in the show.)

Superficially it's just a entertaining supernatural TV show and you can enjoy it that way, but I think the layers below that are more like, I dunno, Silent Hill or Alan Wake? This stuff is in parts totally bonkers. I mean really bonkers including a musical scene with real actors in Alan Wake 2. No idea what these guys are smoking. - Btw allegedly the Duffers are the kind of nerds that like stuff like that.

Silent Hill, directed by Christophe Gans.... I really think he should do more films. Crying Freeman, Le pacte des loups 👌Wait, he's making another Silent Hill film? I wanted Onimusha. With Jean Reno.

Or, using a Superman reference: "The son becomes the father and the father.. the son."

So, yeah, you may think that's all crazy. I say: Wait for Season 5.

[snow-at-twilight]

Casual Clothing Refs Boards: Nightcord at 25:00!

With this post, we conclude the casual clothing ref boards series! Kanade's was super fun to put together LOL. Mafuyu actually had a startling lack of art in casual clothes since she's usually in her school uniform, but you know...

And just to reiterate: all of the art in these posts are either from cards or collab/promo art! I created these boards and shared them as a resource for everyone to use! Feel free to reblog/save as reference! I hope they help you in your artistic/writing endeavors!

L/N | MMJ | VBS | WxS | 25-ji

Some notes/personal observations under the cut:

KANADE

What do I even say? LOL

She really does only wear her sweats/tracksuit and shorts.

'Faintly Glowing Elpis' actually has her in a slightly different jacket, but it was from a year ago in PjSk timeline so she's seems to have shifted to a different jacket.

She also has one 'formal' outfit, which she wears in 'Determination Ignited' and 'Opening Ceremony Held in the Classroom' - collared white shirt and grey sweater (oversized?).

She also has a black winter coat she wears when it's snowy/chilly out!

Kanade is peak 'what is comfortable and practical' and doesn't futz around with fashion much.

If you (as a creator/artist/writer) want to put her in something beyond what she usually wears, you can probably chalk it up to Ena or Mizuki taking her clothes shopping.

MAFUYU

again, usually is wearing her school uniform in card art, but from what we get of her casual attire:

Usually is wearing her 2D live outfit.

blue, white, beige, purple colors. Sometimes black top.

Long skirts or pants, plenty of cozy sweaters/cardigans over button-downs/collared shirts.

Something about her attire screams 'nurse' -> Probably the light/muted colors.

Another character who rarely has short sleeves.

ENA

I just want to note she's usually drawing/painting in the long-sleeve print shirt and shorts, but may also wear a hoodie as seen in 'I Want To Capture That Expression'.

Sometimes goes for cardigans.

You can count on her shirts having a collar and some sort of ruffle or soft puff sleeve.

Also has ribbon around her neck or the black choker on her 2D Live.

Skirts enjoyer, you don't really get her in pants.

As for colors, go for white, beige, maybe a black, and also pink!

MIZUKI

They have a lot of different ribbons to tie their hair up in!

Wears their 2D Live outfit a lot, but the outfit you first see in 'A Moment of Jest' with the white shirt and black/pink suspenders + skirt is actually something they seem to wear often as well.

Usually has a ribbon/bow around their collar as well, but it's a lot bigger.

Frilly/ruffled dresses and whatnot, but also wears suspender-style too.

Blue, white, pink, and some black.

I think the only piece of art we actually have of them in some form of pants (aside from their middle school 'What Gave Me Courage' card) is their most recent 'You Gotta Come, Or Else I’ll Be Sad' card.

Reminder that Mizuki will buy and alter clothing if it isn't to their tastes.

You can see their closet in 'A Long-Awaited Notification'. Plaid patterns!!

[py-dreamer]

I can't believe this is the first goddamn video I post.

But times are funny like that aren't they?

Ok so as the thumbnail says, this is specifically for the first lmk fic I've written:

"When the sun sets forever."

Yes it's shadowpeach, how on earth did you guess. And if you've floated around my dreamscape for a while, you'll know my...

...very enthusiastic opinions of Macaque...

(I promise I do still like him, he's a great character, it's just I get pretty peeved by how the majority of the fandom portrays their relationship a lot of peeps bashing Wukong and saying Mac did nothing wrong-

I have a whole other post about this and the fic, I'm tired man, here're the links:

https://www.tumblr.com/py-dreamer/751398212493000704/oh-its-macaroni-learns-the-consequences-for

https://www.tumblr.com/py-dreamer/751119540805632000/rant-about-shadowpeach-warning-mac-slander)

But regardless, if you enjoy some Macaca slander, hop on board!

If you don't , good for you! Please don't harass anyone who thinks otherwise.

But to sum up:

In this fic we explore a scenario where Macaque finds a time alterating artifact after a huge spat on the mountain (that resulted in the clip above), uses that artifact to make it so he killed Tripitaka during JTTW. Then we see his pov in this universe where things have certainly changed drastically

...and not necessarily for the better.

People change. Friends or foes found dead or alive. Cities fall and some thrive.

But one thing I can assure you?

Neither of our mystic monkeys are having any fun until the end.

But yeah! Formal announcement post for my fic!

Yes this is a big reason why I've been absent for like a month

No I won't stop posting art. I'm taking a short break rn to get into the rhythm of drawing again

No there isn't a formal posting schedule, but I do have it in mind

No this isn't the big BIG project I've been working on for a few weeks

(Forgive me if I missed anything from s5, this was planned and written before that and I haven't watched it yet)

But enough about me!

I want to thank anyone who's already seen the fic and/or left kudos or comments

And I want to give an especially huge shoutout to @furornocturna for beta reading this thing!

Their work is great! And is one of the most enjoyable reads I've read in a long while

And since I haven't seen an official post for it yet...

SHABAM!!! Another great fic! She recently updated it too! It's about amnesiac Wukong who thinks Macaque is still his mate and MK is their child!

Wham bam, pajama sam's christmas ham: hijinks ensue

Very entertaining, good ol Macaque bashing

(she and I like to stand around him in a circle and give him a good whack with the consequences stick sometimes. It builds character.)

And parental Shadowpeach is always appreciated here. 10/10

I have not linked it but also check out:

Fractured pieces make a mosaic

Also written by her! Another great fic that delves into more of the sins of Macaque against EVERYONE not just Wukong

But about the video, yea just heard the audio and thought it'd be funny

I feel like Chang'e would definitely comfort a friend after some harsh words like what happens in the 1st chapter

Or at least she'd hear what Macaque did from Wukong and give massive side eye

(Especially since I figured she'd have a damn well knowledge of bad men *cough* *cough8 the reason Zhu Bajie got kicked out of heaven in the first place *cough* *cough*

I know they've rarely interacted in canon but hey, they've at least met on screen and we know Wukong can build a rocket to visit. Plus both being lonely immortals with cute animal subjects being theri only companions for centuries...

I have a feeling they'd get along somehow

They remind me of friends who exchange pics of their cute pet, only it's more like children for Wukong since they're literally his Sun family

And anyway the fandom pairs Mac and Chang'e just because they have a moon motif so let me have this goddamit.

[lightning-and-dragons]

Title: Patience and Peace

Sequel to Here for You

Written for @12daysofchristmas challenge 2024.

Day/Prompt(s): Day 4; Playing Board Games

Fandom/Character(s)/Ship: Jay Walker & Ed Walker & Edna Walker

Warnings (if applicable): Not Applicable

Word Count: 2402

Fandom: Lego Ninjago

Rated: Teen and Up

Read on Tumblr below!

--------------------------------

Jay felt out of place, and Edna could see it. 

She could see it in the way he held himself, stiff and tense, as if he was ready for any attack on all sides. It was in the way he would look around any new room with worry and caution, his hand on the hilt of the knife he always kept at his belt, how he would stand beside any exit doors in case he had to make a quick escape. The only place he seemed to feel comfortable was their home, as he would sit in front of the fireplace with his back to the door, his shoulders relaxed, his breathing even. It was when he was away from the familiar walls of Ed and Edna’s house that he got scared. 

It was painful to see her once outgoing son shy away from people he didn’t know, and even people he did, or, at least used to, but Edna was just glad to have him back, even if he wasn’t fully there. 

No matter how much Ed and Edna talked about Jay’s childhood, about the junkyard, Jay didn’t seem to remember it. They asked him every night at supper if he remembered anything more, and he couldn’t ever say that he did. 

“I don’t remember you.” He admitted one night, softly, as if he was scared of the words, “But I feel safe when you’re both around.”

The Jay before the Merge would’ve never admitted such a thing, but this Jay did. Once again, Edna was reminded about how much he longed for comfort and love, two things that he hadn’t experienced in too long. How his life was full of fear and worry before he found his way back to them.

He didn’t speak of his past in the Merged Realm very often, but Edna knew that it was painful and so, so lonely. She wasn’t surprised when Jay decided to stay with them for longer, possibly even permanently, because surely a life with kind strangers was better than a life on the run, alone. 

And one day she hoped that they wouldn’t be strangers to him. 

But today, Jay stood by the door of the grand hall of the village, watching warily as everyone passed by him. Edna kept her eye on him, worried that something would startle him and he would run. She needed to be able to get to him before he did, if it happened. The smells of the room tried to distract her, but she wouldn’t let it. 

“Edna, dear, how much potatoes do you think Jay would want?”

“A scoop should be fine, dear.”

Ed nodded beside her, and reached for the spoon, no doubt going to fill Jay’s plate as well as his. 

“Don’t stare too much, we don’t want to draw attention to him.” Ed said softly, and Edna knew that he was right. Her staring would make others look at Jay too, but she was just so scared that he would leave them again. He had already been with them for two weeks, so chances he would leave were small, but she was still equally terrified of losing him at that moment than she had been that first night. 

She reluctantly looked back to the table in front of her, reaching for the bread buns, and placing one on her plate. The table was filled with all sorts of foods, most similar to what would be served in a classic Christmas feast, yet altered to fit the foods that they had available. Duck instead of turkey, sweet potatoes instead of yellow or white, and a strange purple vegetable instead of carrots. 

People from the village surrounded the table, pilling their plates high, mostly everyone smiling brightly. Even though Christmas was days away, according to Ninjago’s calendar, everyone wanted to celebrate early. There was no reason not to, and with the joy felt around the village at the aspect of a community feast, they didn’t want to wait.

Yet Edna knew that not everyone was happy, and as she walked over to Jay with Ed to give Jay his plate of food, they saw Ray and Maya walk up to him. Maya had a strained smile on her face, but anyone could see that she was worried and a little bit upset. Ray wasn’t even trying to hide his displeasure. And Jay looked immediately uncomfortable. 

Edna knew what this was about, and all she could think was not right now, please. Please not when I just got him back.

“Ed…”

“I see it, dear.”

The two walked faster, dodging around the people who mingled about, watching as Ray and Maya got closer. Edna could see her son tighten himself against the wall, his hands twitching, reaching for the knife at his side, before pulling back. But Edna wasn’t sure how long he would be able to fight the instincts he developed post-Merge. 

“Jay! Son, I got your food! I got you a little extra of that weird veggie, I still can’t believe you like the thing.” Ed interrupted, finally reaching them, and stood in between Maya, Ray and Jay. Maya slowed down, frowning, but Ray continued forward. Ed quickly handed the food to Jay, who took it hesitantly, keeping a steady gaze on the two people in front of him, holding his breath.

“Ray, Maya. Well, golly gee, what a surprise!” Ed continued, pasting a smile on his face. “I thought that you two wern’t going to be here.”

“Quit it, Ed. Jay is going to tell us where our kids are, and I’m not leaving until I know.” Ray snapped, and Edna quickly went to Jay’s side, catching his hand as it shot for his knife. Jay fought her for a moment, before relaxing in her grip, letting his hand rest in hers. His face was pale, and he was shaking, with what Edna didn’t know. 

“How am I supposed to know who your kids are? I don’t even know you! I don’t know where they are!” Jay replied with a snarl. Yet, anyone could hear the waver in his voice.

“He lost his memory.” Edna exclaimed quickly. “Give him time to get used to life here before we think about his past.”

“She’s right, Ray. Let’s just enjoy a nice meal with good food, and deal with this some other time.” Ed added, but Ray shook his head. 

“We don’t have time. For all we know they could be dying out there, and Jay might know where they are. We can save them, and you won’t let us? Is that what I’m hearing?”

Edna knew what it felt like to not know where your kid was, if they were alive, if they were okay. She knew the fear that must plague Ray and Maya every night, the sadness, the anger at not being able to help them, but she knew Jay wasn’t ready to face those questions. He had barely begun to get comfortable here, and asking him questions about what he went though could push him over the edge. He might run from them. If they didn’t be careful, she would lose Jay, and Ray and Maya wouldn’t get any more info on where Kai and Nya were, too. 

Jay wasn’t ready for this. 

“We’ll find them, but now is not the time to discuss it.”

Despite Edna’s words, Maya looked from Edna to Jay, her eyes pleading. “Jay, please. Do you have any idea where Kai and Nya are? If they’re even alive? Have you seen them in your travels?

Jay’s eyes grew distant for a moment, and it seemed as if the slight red in his eyes consumed more of the blue. His eyebrows furrowed, and suddenly, with a cry of frustration, he threw the plate in his hands at the wall. Edna jolted at the crash, her hand slipping out of Jay’s, and stepped back. 

He was shaking. His shoulders trembled with what looked like anger, and his eyes were closed tightly, his fingers curled into his palms. Once again, Edna wasn’t sure if she was looking at her son, or a man who had lost everything good within him. 

“Jayー” Ed began, but Jay turned to him, fury in his eyes.

“Leave me alone!” He screamed, and Edna could feel everyone's eyes on them. Jay didn’t seem to care, and with a swift turn, walked out of the building. 

The room was silent, and Edna couldn’t help but feel afraid of what was going to happen next. Was Jay going to leave the village? Should she go after him, or would he hurt her? Was she going to lose her son again?

“Ray, Maya, I respect you both a whole lot, but Jay is our son.” Ed said sternly, turning to them, worry in his eyes. “He’s in a very frail state, and as his father I’m going to do whatever I can to help him through it. From here on out, I want you to respect the boundaries we set with you.”

“Jay’s an adult, he can speak for himself, can’t he? When he’s not throwing tantrums, of course.” Ray replied bitterly, and Maya put her hand on his shoulder, trying to pull him away. 

Edna was thankful that Ed spoke up. “He can, but he’s going through a rough patch. After everything he’s done for Ninjago and your kids, your patience is the least he deserves.” 

“Ray.” Maya said, turning to her husband. “They’re right. If Nya were here she would want us to help him, not demand answers for things he might not even know.”

“I know you’re both hurting.” Edna said, stepping forward. “But please give him time. He’s been through a whole lot, and we don’t know any of it. If he tells us anything about Kai or Nya, we’ll tell you. We want them to be found too.”

Ray took a minute to calm down, his angry scowl turning to a frown. “I…I’m sorry. I just…I need them to be okay.”

Ed nodded his forgiveness, and as much as Edna wanted to stay and make sure things were right between them, she knew that Jay might be running away right now, and they needed to stop him. 

“We should go find Jay, dear.”

“Golly, we should! Hopefully he hasn’t left!”

Maya nodded. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

With those words said, Ed and Edna rushed outside, leaving their plates abandoned inside. Silently, they made their way home, hoping that he took some time to pack before leaving. Yet, as they stepped through the doorway anxiously,  they could see him sitting in front of the fireplace, on the worn sofa. He was wrapped in a soft blanket, breathing heavily. With a quick glance around the room, Edna could see his knife on the kitchen table, stabbed through the wood so the blade stood up straight. She didn’t mind, it was better there than in anything else.

“Jay, dear? Are you okay?” She asked, moving to his side slowly, and he shook his head no. “Can I help with anything? Do you want something to eat?”

He didn’t reply, instead choosing to stare at the fire, his fingers tangling into the blanket. Edna could hear some shuffling behind her, but didn’t pay it any attention. Instead, she wrapped her arm around Jay’s shoulder’s letting him lean into her if he wanted. He didn’t, but she could feel him relax under her touch. 

“I hate her.” Jay muttered, and Edna had to lean forward to hear him. 

“Who?”

“Nya.”

The words were like a slap in the face, and Edna had to hold back a cry of shock. Jay hated Nya? For the longest time, he was madly in love with her, devoted to her with every bone in his body, and now he hated her? What happened? 

She had to remind herself that telling him what used to be wouldn’t help. She had to be patient. 

“Why do you hate her?”

His eyes became distant once more, and he was silent once again, clearly not willing to give an answer. She wouldn’t push him, despite the questions and concerns that plagued her. They sat in silence for a while, before Ed called them to the kitchen. Jay reluctantly got up, but still had the blanket around his shoulders, holding onto it tightly, as if letting it go would injure him.

On the kitchen table, Ed had set up an old board game that they had found abandoned in their travels, Dragons and Ravines, a game that Jay used to love as a kid. It was a simple game, yet would keep Jay happy for hours. This copy wasn’t their original, all of the board games they owned had been lost in the Merge, but it was still in decent shape. 

And, Jay wouldn’t notice a difference in the two, no matter how badly Edna would want him to. 

“What is it?” Jay asked, his eyes sparking with what looked to be a hint of curiosity, yet still muted by the despair that clouded them. 

“This is one of my favorite games. You travel across the board, trying to get to the top. If you hit a ravine, you fall back down a few spaces. If you hit a dragon, you can fly up a few spaces. Care to try, son? It’s easy!” Ed explained, and Edna studied Jay’s face, looking for any hint of recognition. 

Instead, she got a small smile. 

“Sure.”

Edna matched his smile, and sat beside Jay, picking out the blue playing pieces and handing them to Jay, who took them hesitantly. As Ed began walking Jay though it once again, Edna found her mind wandering back to Jay’s words, and the confusion with what happened with Nya. Deep in her heart she wondered if whatever happened to Jay and Nya would break the two apart when they were reunited, destroying the love they had, but she dismissed the thought. 

Post-Merge life had taught her to take things one day at a time. It took patience, and practice, but it was the only thing she could do. Nya wasn’t here right now; Edna couldn’t fix whatever happened between them. But she could play this board game with her son and husband, and help bring Jay peace after a rough day. 

It was something she was happy to do. 

[cellarspider]

11/30: Full steam ahead

(Previous) | (Index) | (Next)

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We return to Body Desecrator 2093, Prometheus. There were no post this weekend because I felt like it. Now I feel like it even less, because it’s this scene.

The horrors do not end here. The movie hasn’t even got to what it considers horrors, but I’d already screamed quietly at the screen by this point several times, so it’s safe to say that me and the movie were not simpatico.

There are times when a movie will do things that fall entirely outside your personal beliefs or understanding of logic, and you just roll with it. Magical realism does this all the time, as do movies reaching for the psychedelic. 2001: A Space Odyssey eventually dissolves reality itself around the protagonist as he travels through another dimension. On the first sit, you have no way of knowing what you’ll be shown next, but if the movie’s got you, then you go with it.

Then there are movies where everyone is acting according to some sort of logic, but it feels twisted, like things are happening for a reason, but the logic doesn’t connect. Horror movies love this, particularly ones with cultic antagonists–Midsommar being the most notable modern example, and the original Wicker Man being another.

I mean, the Nick Cage movie also has that, but sometimes it has that because Nick Cage is in a bear costume, punching a woman in the face and stealing bicycles at gunpoint like he’s in GTA.

Prometheus, unfortunately, unintentionally places itself somewhere between the two Wicker Men. The characters’ decision making is a shambolic mess. The movie intentionally invokes religious fervor in Shaw especially, and might intentionally invoke that plus megalomania in Holloway, but it doesn’t draw a line around those characters and their bad decisions. Everyone is just going with their bullshit. This suggests to the audience that in the movie’s world all scientists behave like this.

I mean, in our world, scientists sometimes try to fit entire oranges in their mouths (source), but I should like to think that The Orange Incident wouldn’t have happened if that guy had been on board the most important scientific expedition in human history.

Things just kept happening in this movie that made me feel like I was dissociating. The cast is back at the Prometheus, with their stolen artifacts and mortal remains. Cool. They need to be decontaminated. Like, inside and out.

Next, we see Shaw and Holloway in a lab, along with Maybe-Chemist-Lady whose name fell right out of my head as I watched, because she’s never given a character to speak of. They are wearing scrubs, hairnets, and blue surgical masks, which tells me the movie thinks this is appropriate personal protective equipment for handling an alien head. Holloway is sitting on a counter in the corner, getting drunk.

So many things have just hit me here. How long is this since they got back? Apparently no more than a couple hours. These people took their helmets off in an active alien biosphere, with worms in the dirt and an alien corpse on the ground and who knows what else. They should be quarantined forever, or at least for a couple weeks. 

When the Apollo 11 crew got back to Earth, they were quarantined for 21 days. NASA didn’t consider it likely that anything lived on the moon, but they were taking no chances. Here’s Nixon getting a chance to see what good people look like!

But no! No quarantine for Prometheus! The guys who breathed moon dust? Into the quarantine trailer. The people who stuck their faces near an alien corpse? Nah! It’s all good!

What about the head they looted from the structure? These people already got a dramatic reminder that altering the conditions around sensitive artifacts can cause them to degrade. I’ve already rambled at length about how NASA still sterilizes their equipment to not contaminate anywhere probes are sent to. Hell, as a geneticist, I can tell you that there is a very strict hierarchy of sample isolation and biosafety deployed when it’s appropriate–either you work fucking hard to protect the samples from you, or you work hard to protect yourself from the sample. 

But the crew of the Prometheus have scanned the head with a little light and declared “Sample is sterile. No contagion present”, which is an odd thing to declare now, after they already breathed all over it. Trusting their all-knowing (and wrong) computer, they take their surgical masks off. Fully sealed suits? A glovebox? Even movies show people using a glovebox sometimes!

NOPE! HAIRNETS AND A LABCOAT, LET’S GO

Do we kick out Shaw’s boyfriend who’s in his casual clothes? NAH, LET THE MAN BE COMFY. Are we going to pry the bottle away from him, because bringing drinks into a lab breaks basic safety standards? Standards that I’ve only ever seen broken by one place that also allowed open-toe sandals in a lab where boiling hot gel and mutagenic chemicals were regularly mixed? NOPE, LET HIM HAVE HIS BOOZE, HE’S SAD HE DIDN’T GET TO MEET GOD.

Don’t worry, that one lab doesn’t do the sandal thing anymore. And Holloway will pay for his crimes against laboratory safety.

But I can't stress enough how utterly uncanny this scene felt, unintentionally on the part of the movie. Every decision felt wrong. Everything everyone was doing, saying, and wearing was wrong. They’re not even wearing the right kind of gloves! They should at minimum be wearing nitrile gloves! They’re wearing PVC gloves, which have stupid high leakage rates, even if you double-glove! They’re not even more comfortable than nitrile gloves! This is my nittest of picks, I know! I’m doing it anyway!

The movie had lost me, but part of me was still hoping it would come back around, that something in it would be the movie I’d thought it would be.

Next time: the movie will not do that, and I will, paradoxically, find myself in more of the frame of mind the movie seems to want from the audience: not giving a shit about its characters. 

Stay tuned for some bonus workplace hazards below the citations.

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1. https://youtu.be/P1gn06np-7g  2. https://youtu.be/KhRo2WbWnKU?t=35 3. https://youtu.be/JjCh7lTVNwo  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airstream#Space_program  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronaut_transfer_van  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umarell  7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upgrade_(film)#Production

Alright, let’s behold some images from my institute’s safety training module on compressed gas cylinders. Please note, these were not taken at my institute, these are probably the result of the team finding cursed images they wanted to inflict on their coworkers and us.

This was how they chose to communicate the idea of “don’t let canisters heat up, or they might explode”. How else might they explode? If the canister becomes old and corroded, develops any other sort of fault, or is stored improperly, especially near cylinders of other kinds. Like so!

This is the least bombastic of the images, but it exudes a quiet menace and/or the promise that Video Game Physics are imminent.

What do I mean by Video Game Physics? Glad you asked!

Terrifying yet also compelling! Finally, here’s a video from that most terrifying of places, a Russian highway.

Video description, which I realize I haven’t been doing up to this point and now I want to: A GazpromTech company truck carrying unsecured acetylene tanks passes a motorist on a separated highway at high speed. On the side of it, “ОГНЕОПАСНО” (“FLAMMABLE”) is briefly visible as it rockets by. It makes no to minimal attempt to slow down as a bus enters its lane, rear-ending it. The viewpoint car skids to a stop, and what might be the truck driver can be seen sprinting toward the central barrier of the highway. “Scream & Shout” by will.i.am and Britney Spears can be heard playing on the radio as the viewpoint car tries to back away, complete with an audible “Britney, bitch”. At 0:54 the view cuts to a camera on the other side of the highway, which one commenter estimated as being 200 m away based on the delay between explosions and the sound of the blast reaching the camera. 

There are, in fact, MANY explosions from the fireball that has engulfed the truck. A semi tanker is being guided backward away from the explosion, while a blue box truck does the same. A silver sedan, briefly visible in the first angle, is parked within under 50 feet of the truck. Its apparent owner is dithering on whether to try and reach it, eventually deciding, as they should, that this is not worth it. The cameraperson, on the other hand, apparently thinks this is worth it, as do several others in the other lane. 

One man is filming on a tablet. Multiple times, canisters and truck shrapnel can be seen rocketing off from the wreck to distances that make it clear everybody in shot is well within decapitation range from these things, especially as explosions fling more burning cylinders onto the roadway. At 1:45, Tablet Man gets the fuck out of there, but our self preservation-less cameraperson remains. At 2:14, a flaming canister in blown clear of the wreck and lands with its bottom end pointing directly toward the cameraperson, who still does not take the hint. Starting at 2:37, the body of the truck is blasted apart, a canister goes flying off past the camera, and a piece of the truck flips and lands on a nearby road sign. 

At 3:32 another cut happens and there are more people standing in view of the camera. Are they official emergency crew? Nope! Rubberneckers, although the cop car that’s even closer than them gets a wakeup call when a canister slams into the divider in front of it and tumbles away, still spitting gas. The cop backs up, and the video ends.

End description. Also, end post.

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[katyspersonal]

Hello Katya, do you have any ideas about Simple Gratia?

....

Yes, my girl!! I have some observations AND ideas! I remember that back when I checked, a fan Wiki incorrectly said that she is wearing Yharnam Hunter set. I do not know whether they've fixed that since then or not, but I know it confused a few artists. Gratia, in reality, is wearing an Old Hunter set but slightly altered:

(Close images of her model are from this ( x ) page, datamined by AstralLace!) This is what an Old Hunter set looks like, for a reminder:

Gratia is an Old Hunter: the type that started under Gehrman like Maria, Vitus, Henryk, Djura, Bestial Hunter, all that. I think that she knew all these characters and more, and with Maria she was a lot like an older sister that Maria never had! But I think she would be genuinely annoyed by Djura's complex inventions and at times not be able to hide her disdain, right in the middle of Djura ranting about them! That'd spark stupid, petty arguments about what kind of weapon is "better" which their friends laugh at in the corner like hyenas until Gehrman or Maria separate them XD

In comparison with the generic set, she is missing the long flowing cape, as well as the glove on her left hand. Her weapon, a chunk of metal, also goes in the left hand. I think she is missing the glove to have a stronger grip on the metal, so it would not slip away! I wondered what her right hand weapon would be before, but I think she doesn't need one in the end! I imagine her staggering the beast with her Iron Fist and then TEARING THEIR HEAD OFF WITH HER FREE HAND DFJHFSHSD .....but, you know, a hammer or a mace would also be nice yeah sure

In Bloodborne setting, red hair is also highlighted as a trait of Cainhurst nobles, that isn't really seen in any other NPC. Edgar may be also a ginger but much brighter kind, certainly not a REDhead!

This makes me think: what if Gratia's red hair is not just a random design choice, but a hint? And even if it isn't, it can still be used for a headcanon! Cainhurst nobles descend from Pthumeru Ihyll and have some Pthumerian heritage (just in case here ( x ) is the post with evidences of it) 🤔 At the same time, Pthumerians have gigantic variants, that seem to be more slow and dim than 'regular' ones. And interestingly, Gratia is abnormally big AND stated to have some intellectual drawbacks:

So, she has 1) otherwise Cainhurst-exclusive hair color 2) a size abnormally large for a human and 3) correlation between inability to use guns and being 'dim'! This gave me a headcanon that she was born in the Cainhurst walls, but shown Pthumerian genes that were "undesired" in the eyes of snobbish nobles and thus, abandoned at birth. She never knew of her origins, but was adopted by a kind man! Yeah, in this context, Maria and Gratia feeling family-like bond almost from the start in kind of fateful!

^ I often draw her with the same body pattern that shows on the skin of Snatchers, and that is exactly what kind of descendant she is!

I also always liked the idea that Gratia, Simon and Yamamura were the 'detective friends' up to uncover the Healing Church's secrets! Later, I decided the Yahar'gul Hunter we find in the prison under Grand Cathedral should also be a part of the squad! I did not know that Simon interestingly had Fist of Gratia as a part of his equipment back then and only judged from their location, but that made me feel validated with that headcanon! xD

Gratia is, of course, more of a 'power' of the team! She might be not very smart, but she has her heart in a good place and can understand the concept of shady bad business that should be stopped. She is easy to deceive in terms of pranks and other remotely innocent things, but when someone lying to her or trying to use her is malicious she will sense it. Pair that with her being very brave and blunt, and you really don't want to mess with her! The girl could grab Laurence and slam him against the wall accusing him of being "full of shit" if he attempted to deceive her, ffs! And not even his friends would defend him because it IS his fault for playing with this tigress x)

Needless to mention that she is protective over her friends! Not a kind of a protective friend that will mindlessly jump into fighting the other guy, but someone that will walk in and give them a fair warning to get lost first. She has threatening aura and usually just that is enough to scare away a person that means no good to someone she cares about. But, when she is powerless to do anything against some prick in power or likewise, she will express her frustration by breaking a property on her way out xd

Also she gives me this vibe:

Thank you for an ask! :D She has a very vivid and fleshed out image in my mind! Funny enough, this makes describing her harder because she feels so self-explanatory for me!

[zahri-melitor]

Okay a loose Recent Reads roundup:

Birds of Prey: Sirens of Justice: so I was lured (tricked) into reading this as Gail Simone wrote one of the stories, even though it, sigh, contains far too much Harley Quinn due to movie synergy. The Dinah and Helena banter is decent, but otherwise this felt...aggressively fine. The Helena story is very pat in terms of how people tend to write Huntress shorts, though I guess it wasn't 'Helena worries about a student' this time.

The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage: very much in conversation with O'Neil's run, of course, and also clearly reacting to contemporaneous US racial discussions. Shifting Myra to be the Mayor's sister not wife definitely alters her position in the narrative, particularly in terms of her obligations and response to situations. It is incredibly bleak in places, but that simply reflects the run it is based on and is a tribute to.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen: This is definitely for the Silver Age fan. Matt Fraction manages to string together solving a complex assassination plot over 12 issues by telling the story in short, 2-4 page sections that wildly jump around the timeline and are framed by 'the many ridiculous things that have happened to Jimmy Olsen'. I have absolutely no handle on the canonicity of some of this, particularly the extended Olsen family, and not knowing probably makes this read more easily. Looking at it as a whole, I'm impressed how well Fraction stitched what was effectively episodic 2 page fills into a complete narrative. The energy of the story is relentless. Best read in small doses.

Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P: god this comic could have been so much better than it was. It’s fine and accomplishes exactly what it was intended to do - tell a story of how Alfred influenced and looked out for each of Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian and Barbara - and sets everyone up to be mildly pissed at Bruce. But just for one example, it would have been HUGELY more powerful if they’d been able to use Dick, with his memories just restored, facing the fact he wasn’t there when Alfred needed him and his last interactions were so impersonal and spent pushing Alfred away.

Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular: again, underwhelming. Tom King played shipper and wrote his version of how the Helena Wayne story should work; the Dixon story felt 90s appropriate but the art was dire; Brubaker’s felt like a missing scene to his run; Dini’s honestly wasn’t up to the standard I’d hope for from Dini. The art pieces were great though; a lot of good commissions.

Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular: I cannot work out who chose the covers used in the issue, which swing between 'iconic' and 'reminding everyone ASBAR exists was unnecessary, DC'.

Generally: they did manage to round up fairly iconic lineups for most of the stories, with some chopping and changing for a few.

Wolfman got another run at trying to frame the 'Dick quits v Bruce fires him' debate; Dixon and Grayson both submitted literal fills (Dixon's is a scene immediately after Nightwing #19 1996 and before #20; Grayson's is at least just an extra story that fits into #1-12 of her Titans 1999 run on a day all the second stringers didn't come to work). I don't actually have a problem with any of these - they're nice additional material, but mostly more of the same. Seeley & King's suffers from the usual Seeley problem for me where it would be vastly improved by having a different focus; but it does feel straight out of his Grayson run, with everything that implies (down to the St Hadrian's student I wish was not present). All of the Dick stories are basically "we got the team back together" creative line ups.

Jason, in contrast, makes it really obvious that nobody can define a definitive Jason run, and so gets the tiniest story with Winick and Dustin Nguyen. I checked, and Nguyen did draw part of UTRH, but I wouldn't have associated him as a character-defining artist for Jason. The story's cute. Winick sidestepped having to commit to anything about his opinions on post-Flashpoint Jason direction.

Tim got Adam Beechen (which honestly makes me happy, I don't care about anyone else's opinion) and luxuriates in Tim having to play civilian; Tynion gets a Rebirth story that I can't quite work out his timing on (it's supposed to be a prequel, but Dick is already back in costume as Nightwing and talking to Tim, suggesting that several issues of the Rebirth Nightwing take place significantly before 'Tec #934) that is a classic 'Tim tells everyone how he feels about his brothers' story. I realise everyone boring has complained about Tim calling Damian a 'horrible gremlin' but the thing is you see I can only read nicknames like that as full of affection. The back and forth is an important part of their relationship, as shown by Damian snapping 'you're only listening to the insults'.

Steph gets her 71 days as Robin slightly padded out and Amy Wolfram manages to pick up Willingham's tone pretty well; I suspect she liaised with Damion Scott quite a bit on this piece.

Damian has a Super Sons piece from Tomasi, because it's the most lighthearted option available and it sells very well (it's sickly sweet). Which was probably the right call as the other piece is clearly written by Robbie Thompson to accompany his Teen Titans run and for the downward spiral going on there. Which is honestly a bit of a pity for Damian, given everyone else got feature pieces from favourite runs, and he got the 'this slots into your current story' piece.

[annadiplosis]

I’VE HAD THIS BLOG FOR 10 YEARS

Here’s to many more years of fish, vampires, aliens and bird people! To everyone who follows me and/or has praised my art, in any way, at any point, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I’ll be ranting about art progress and style changes under the cut, but before that, just a reminder that I’m going through a complicated time in my life and if you want to support me and my art there’s a few ways to do so.

Now back to my goofy doodles.

Maybe because I've drawn ever since I can remember, I've never felt a ton of pressure to improve my art skills. It's always been something I knew was going to happen as long as I kept drawing, and that's what I've been doing. I try not to stress too much about staying consistent with my practice or achieving any self-imposed goals. I like to discover what I'm able to do, one drawing at a time.

I also believe progress is not linear, and not every single piece is better than the last. While my 2023 art shows a higher skill level than that of 2013, I think some of my older work looks perfect the way it is. I'm drawn to expressiveness, movement, and compelling characters, and that can be achieved at any level. I've gotten better at some technical aspects, of course; my linework is far more decisive than it was before, and my endless battle with color palettes gets easier every day. I'm also capable of unwillingly drawing the crappiest, most horrendous doodle you've ever seen, just as I was in 2013. Just as we all are. I'm not sure why I find that reassuring, but I do.

When I started this blog, what really worried me was developing a distinct style. I studied other artists and stole specific elements of their work, sometimes drawing and redrawing the exact same thing until I was satisfied with the result. At some point, and I can't exactly tell you when or why, I stopped caring about that. It's not that I thought I'd found My Perfect Style, because that doesn't exist. I guess I started focusing on other stuff, and that's when my actual style started coming together. I followed my instincts, tried to strike a balance between what came naturally to me and what I was envisioning every particular piece to look like, and it worked. Any alteration my style has gone through since then has been unplanned and intuitive, and I can't see myself approaching art in any other way. I'm excited to discover what kind of artist I'll be in ten more years.

Thanks for reading this far! Warm regards from me and every notebook I've used since opening this blog (#9 to #37 in my overall archive) ♡