#most of the art that i make in earnest thats Just For Me is very uh. impressionist and romantic?

[mossy-covered-bones]

I want. To make a song

[ooctlt]

I really like this blog most of the time, but sometimes you take reasonable earnest asks that are trying to be thoughtful, and are such a dick about it.

Like if it's the characters being dicks, fine. But you could say something in the tags or post to indicate you're not just viciously mocking someone for trying to engage.

I still haven't submitted an ask since seeing your response that led to comments along the lines of "anon should go die in a hole" for asking, pretty reasonably, why harrow would want to stay with people she didn't seem to like or want to be around or interact with.

(i know, because she does like them and does want them around but doesn't know how to show it) but it's an ASK blog. How do we hear that from her unless someone ASKS

i understand it might be surprising and a bit hurtful to see an ask answered with the characters being mean/flippant, and for that i do apologize that it wasnt made clear that it would be a common thing in this blog. id like to issue the disclaimer: there is always the possibility that the characters here will not take your question well. they might answer rudely, and instigating behavior is not only encouraged but expected on both ends. this does not reflect my personal opinions as the artist; there are over 250 asks even after i constantly compile duplicates, and i will answer the asks that i personally like.

i will assume you are referencing the two most recent posts where gideon acts rudely and i repost an old panel: for the former i thought anon was really sweet for being so heartfelt and encouraging, but gideon isnt the kind of person who needs to be told shes brave for doing that by a stranger. it was a simple act of survival. and harrow is still very much in the passive deprogramming phase. the latter response was meant to kickstart (spoilers) what i will call the "dicks last resort" arc, where i clean out the inbox and share more simple, low effort, but potentially rude responses*. this is because i have roughly drawn almost daily for 87 days straight, and would like to recuperate without being burnt out because i love this blog and i love art.

this leads me to my next point: some of these answers will be curt and short and rude, because they are easy to draw. if i only prioritized the "good" asks or to make certain ask responses kinder, or longer, it wouldnt be a daily blog. it would be a monthly blog where 5 asks get answered among 100s. i didnt anticipate people asking about harrows piercings, and i considered shutting it down by just having harrow say she likes them etc. but i did want to give more insight into harrows character even if she wouldnt say so herself, and that took roughly 3 full unemployed nights. if i treated every ask in good faith the same way i wouldnt have time for anything else, because they take more effort and have to be seriously considered for the future. i can retcon their favorite ice cream or play off griddlehark fighting - it takes more to keep track of a narrative about people talking Around their issues

* by rude responses i mean "this will affect the 679ers negatively, much like making your sim 🧑‍🤝‍🧑➖➖ someone" there are a few asks planned to hurt in the same way one drafts a bad end in a visual novel, and this type of interaction is encouraged. of course if you dont want them to get worse dont send asks telling gideon she should flirt with MILFs (you cant send this ask now i already said it), but i encourage the banter.

TL;DR this is the "characters think you are weird for personal questions" blog. i am sorry i didnt warn of the ask-response banter, because i also enjoy drawing these characters being dicks. i do like when aggravation and conflict leads to character development. "how do we get earnest answers unless someone asks" sometimes you will never explicitly get that from them, and thats what the dead ends are for: to let you know to try something else and read between the lines

[favouritefi]

I'm here to be bothersome about purror and erebark again. In your web of how the characters connect art, you have Little having a work crush on Jopson. I'm curious what Jopson feels about Little. Sorry if you've already answered this.

not a bother, my au is so convoluted that theres no way anyone but me can keep track of it all LOL. my answer became an insanely long stream of thought so its under the cut (you have been warned):

I’ve said before that jopson was initially hostile towards little and then he calms down and that it’s hard to tell what he thinks about little, part of that is bc jopson is so crozier focussed that all other people become secondary, the other part is bc they have known each other for far longer in this au than they have in canon so jopsons opinion of little has changed over the years as they both changed (for better and for worse). Like, little was there when jopson and crozier had their Big Fight and little visited jopson nearly as much as crozier visited him when jopson was Dying In The Arctic and little makes jopson coffee every morning and offers to do the chores the others don’t want to do when he’s not depression napping around the house and it’s very obvious that little respects jopson a lot / crushes on jopson a little bit and jopson is not stupid so he knows about littles feelings for him but its like. what is jopson meant to do with all of that? Someone once told me they really dislike the crozier and jopson in my au but i think that’s cause I haven’t elaborated enough on jopsons internal conflicts and feelings and history - jopson doesn’t really see himself as a catperson. What I mean is, jopson spent most of his adult life with crozier who treats him like a human, who treats him like he would any other man, and jopson is used to this and used to having this perception of himself as someone worthy of dignity and autonomy and respect. This is not the kind of life that all the other catboys in this household grew up with. Everyone else has been treated by humans like playthings or pets or vermin, only jopson has had the consistent experience of being treated like a Person, not an equal no, but a real Person. And he likes that. He likes crozier. No one else in the world is capable of giving that to jopson besides crozier. Little is lovely and kind and earnest and if jopson thought of himself as a catperson, if he had been adopted by anyone except crozier, then maybe him and little would meet at some soirée where the both of them are bored to death and jopson flirts with little just for fun and little responds with such schoolboy-like fluster that jopson is charmed and they start courting and falling in love and they get paraded around by their owners like a pair of whimsical trinkets and they might even be permitted to take care of / raise their nieces and nephews and so the two of them dont have to work anymore and they are excellent parents and its a wonderful life that jopson is happy with, but that didnt happen. crozier happened to jopson and jopson happened to crozier and this changes both of them irrevocably. sometimes jopson thinks about little and about what-ifs and imagines that he might be content with little, that its not too late to try, but then he checks the time and realizes he needs to start making dinner now if he wants to make that beef and potatoes dish that crozier likes so much. and when little compliments him on the dish he politely smiles and politely ignores little's adoration. so yeah, thats what jopson feels about little.

[thesoftestcowboy]

thoughts on the colors red, blue, green, and yellow? any comments on the shapes triangle, square, or circle?? rhombus

first of all i gotta tell you that im enjoying this ask twice as much cause i got multiple spam asks since yesterday and did not expect an actual question... anyway. im gonna answer this 200% in earnest, as it should be, obviously (yes i actually did write this out, strap in ig)

red: listen i know everyones favorite color seems to be blue for some reason but red is RIGHT THERE. i heard somewhere that not all languages differentiate the same colors as english (and other european languages), but the first color after light/dark there will be a word for is usually red. idk if thats true but seems plausible, cause yknow whats red? fuckin berries to eat, also blood (either concerning or also to eat, ig). cavepeople knew red was important business. also its pretty and you use it to make pink.

blue: not to imply that blue isnt also good. its got a range. looks very fresh. i do like a teal-ish blue but others are cool also. its really rare in nature ig? but if it does occur its looks rly good! (im saying this rn cause my desktop wallpaper has blue flowers lmao) also if i had a cent for every time i had dreams with intense, seemingly really significant blue night skies, i'd have 2 cents, which isnt much but weird etc etc.

green: ok i like green but, unpopular opinion time, i want neither a green couch nor a green kitchen. i want a pink couch and a blue kitchen. that being said green fucks and is part of some iconic things, such as HES GEEN, and also my favorite song green soop by dooboo, which references the fact that soups can be green (@geminyde)

yellow: finally yellow is super underappreciated. im kinda mad that yellow doesnt suit me super well in clothes cause theres so many cool yellow things id want on a shirt. people only ever think of bright neon yellow but it also had SHADES.

now, the shapes. people at art school will try to convince you that these have some deeper meaning and even a gender (??) cause some guy whose name i forgot claimed they do and thats bs. heres the actual truth about them. triangle pointy. also an instrument! theyre really flexible cause they can have wildly different angles and like?? thats different from squares, which are literally all the same, except for size ig? but thats nice it gives them a sense of stability. theyre ol reliable. ever wonder why they had town squares but never town triangles? well,

anyway the circle is most definitely the princess of shapes. you might think its really basic compared to like uhh a trapezoid or whatever cause you learn about it in kindergarten, but its so fucked up it has ZERO angles?? but then if you wanna render it its got a huge amount of angles/into infinity instead? you can calculate any shapes area with basic maths basically but ohh noo not the circle. its soo special. we love that for him but you gotta be honest.

ngl i had to look up what a rhombus is and its just idk a Raute ig. its a rectangle who wants to be special. which is fine we all need some attention sometime but like, its a rectangle on its side. its doing its own thing. i think it should have a different english name tho tbh. rhombus reminds me of the name rhonda and that has a different vibe. idk if that one was also a question or just an addition tbh but there u go

so thats it thanks for asking like comment subscribe

[rosewinterborn]

9 Characters Tag

Tagged by @synobun whom i dearly hope i haven't offended with my quentin coldwater takes 🥲

My list won't be as compact because ✨️mobile✨️ and it took me a bit to untangle "character i like" from "character i associate myself with" so in no particular order:

Juno Steel (The Psnumbra Podcast)

Art by @acadieum and @hemaris respectively (two of my fave penumbra artists)

-baby's first nonbinary character

-grumpy martian private eye with so much baggage you can see it from the other end of the solar system

-he's a snarky bitch and i love him so much

-i should not have imprinted on him bc he's a terrible role model

-he's my current tumblr icon and has been since like. 2019 i think. Time flies when everything is on fire

Feyre Archeron (A Court of Thorns and Roses)

-one of my comfort reads

-the most i have vibed with a depiction of depression (and the ensuing crawl back toward the light)

-i don't want to say "she's just like me fr!" but i do feel a certain degree of kinship toward her and her character arc

Mollymauk Tealeaf (Critical Role Campaign 2)

-i want his gender

-tarot cards

-enthusiasm for tacky extravagance and general hedonism

-snarky asshole

Alanna of Trebond (Song of the Lioness)

-baby's first lady knight

-irrevocably rewired my brain in middle school

-i aspire to this level of spite and stubbornness

Keyleth of the Air Ashari (Critical Role Campaign 1)

-i relate very hard to her awkwardness, general good nature, and desire to keep the peace. She is powerful and insecure and earnest and i think she desperately needs a hug

-she's probably the closest on this list to me irl

Orym of the Air Ashari (Critical Role Campaign 3)

-there is something in the air (ashari) that makes these people relatable to me

-with orym i think its the endless sense of responsibility and the knowledge that you're not the main character, combined with the painstaking desire to do unquestionable good even when its not really possible

-also, depending on the art, gender

Kaladin Stormblessed (The Stormlight Archive)

-more responsibility, more stubbornness, more depression (guys i think i might have some problems)

-somewhat widely (afaik) headcanoned to be asexual which is always fun for me

-if i ever get a tattoo there's a high likelihood that it'll be the First Ideal

Link (Legend of Zelda)

-i want his gender also

-thats probably all there is here, idk that he has a lot of personality (probably on purpose) but legend of zelda" twilight princess is one of the like. Five video games I've gotten super into in my life

(Hang on i have more but I'm out of pictures)

[juggalogojackerbox]

Why have you chosen to design onycraft in the way he is, i mean, iv never seen anybody draw anything the way this man is shaped

Oh sweet, first ask on this blog! And a really good one too if I do say so myself Anon

Anyway this is actually uh... harder for me to answer than I thought it would be, Onycraft's design has changed a lot over the years- with some changes being more drastic than others (He is at least 11 years old after all) so its hard to explain "like a normal person" why he. looks like that

He started off relatively "normal" then just, a million different cumulative changes that showed up as I wanted them to (consciously or not) that progressively made him uglier and uglier as time has gone on (i say this in the most loving way I swear)

Sometimes It was just little things that happened over time or things I thought would look nice (like me adding more markings and stuff) or it's related to me directly (giving him a cartoonishly exaggerated version of my body shape or the fact that i own the exact same jacket irl that he wears, etc) or just me progressively making his anatomy worse or overly specific because its fun to me (the fact he has exactly 22 teeth, his hands reaching down to his knees, the whole conjoined twin thing etc) or hell even some details I only render in specific styles when i feel like it (the details in his ear, little buds of hair on him here and there, etc etc) or anything else about him that I didn't know how to include here, I could keep going for a long while probably but thats a tangent for a different post and different time, point im trying to make is hes a big ol mess of all sorts of sources of little design quirks and silly things that I cant always really point to one specific source for where it all comes from

I hold a lot of love for "unorthodox" character designs and i hold a lot of love for Onycraft and so naturally the two combining is like a car bomb of autism going off, also because I think his design is very fun and I love it so much and I like adding things to him haphazardly but with love and earnest regardless like a little kid working on a third grade art project

(I apologize for this being so long by the way, it's 100% to be expected from me talking about Ony at all ever but im still sorry LOL)

[heartvisor]

4, 8, 9, 10, 15 ? if thats not too many !

hello si!! :)

4. thoughts on what you’re currently watching/watched most recently

what have i watched recently uhhh... i haven't actually watched the most recent donbro + geats (i've been scrolling fast past most liveblogs) but i think they're both interesting in many ways, for sure ghfg

my about says my last finished series was ultra z! and i talked about this before when i got an ask about ultra recommendations, but the characterizing eagerness and energy to the protagonist really is very appealing!

his speech patterns and physical mannerisms are pretty distinctly influenced by his practice of martial arts (his insistence on honorifics and his habitual "ossu!" affirmative in particular are pretty clearly from training settings) and sets forth a liveliness and earnestness that makes a nice complement to the tone of the show overall.

it makes you want to get pulled along with the antics and flashiness of the fights and enjoy yourself!! i really admire it :)

8. favorite series

ryuki!!!!! i'm biased quite a bit by it being my first rider show, but it really is very good!!!

rosemary mentioned it (very good commentary, but also spoilers) while talking about kanzaki shirou, but the personal and intimate nature of the conflict and the way it interweaves and strikes so directly at the heart for all the major characters gives an emotional direness to the setting that really sticks with you i think.. both it and ooo make me consider the nature of desire and recognition in interesting ways. it's just very lovely!

9. favorite theme song

i've already answered this so i'll just mention another song i like: since i've mentioned the season here already, z's goshouwa kudasai ware no na wo!! what a good energy!! matches the excitement of show's spectacle perfectly!!

10. favorite tie-in movie

i already answered this so i'll mention another movie i like: the geiz majesty movie! silly high school setting with some fun cameos. it's a shockingly normal movie considering how weird zi-o can be

15. least favorite series

i don't really have an exact answer for this, (i don't really think about shows i don't like), but i'll offer some related thoughts.

i might've mentioned it before but i didn't retain engagement very well with ex-aid and build when i first watched them. i wouldn't consider them my least favorites (nor are they the only ones that has happened with), but the experience stands out in my head

it's very much as a matter of personal quirks (so like, my personal stances and tastes re: expressive styles or pacing) and they don't bug me at all nowadays (i'm very fond of both), but it's interesting to look back on

[castielcommunism]

I know a lot of people hate Lebanon because it shows John in a pretty positive light (and it's true) but the pearl gave Dean what he wanted most: a loving father, for just one night. He got it. I know it fucked with the timeline, but it's possible that that wasn't the REAL John Winchester, but one who was more or less stripped of those abusive traits to properly fill Dean's desire. (also abuse victims tend to romanticize their abusers, I know I have reminisced about happy times I had with my abusers). John Winchester was an abusive father and kinda a terrible person... but I like his character, so I was kinda happy to see him back

so okay sorry this will be a bit rambling, but my two big issues with Lebanon are his interactions with Sam and his interactions with Dean.

for Sam his exchange with his father is just, like, horrific. I know the brothers have said “he wasn’t father of the year but he did his best” etc a number of times before, and I have very conflicted feelings on that (children abused by their parents often have very complicated feelings about their parents like you mentioned, especially after those parents are dead, ESPECIALLY if, in the case of spn, said parent sacrificed themselves for you, but also I think the intent behind those lines is largely to exonerate John of his many faults. It’s not “he tried his best BUT he was an asshole”, it’s almost always the other way around), but Sam more or less shrugging off years of mistreatment, of the giant blowout fight about Stanford, of his father SENDING HIM AWAY SO SAM WAS NOT THERE WHEN JOHN DIED SO HE COULD TELL DEAN TO KILL HIS BROTHER IF SAM TURNED ‘EVIL’, and being like nah man it’s cool you did your best. Sam is much more openly critical of their father, and while I don’t think he has a less “biased” view of John compared to Dean, he certainly has a more accurate reading of who he is (or, at the very least, he’s more honest about his feelings about their father than Dean is). So the Sam convo is especially egregious to me.

for Dean it’s like… idk yeah he got what he wanted from his dad, which is nice, but it also seems to justify all of Dean’s obsessive behaviour about his father. Like John congratulates him on where he is in his life, which seems to retroactively justify all the trauma and hurt Dean suffered, as well as his defence of his own father and any character faults he shares with his father, because it led him to this moment where his dad says “and that was all worth it because I approve of the man standing in front of me now.”

so like I’m not disagreeing with you necessarily! abusive parent/child relationships are incredibly fraught and emotionally complex in ways that are basically impossible to fully describe (I am also speaking from some experience here), and that includes quote-unquote “weird” or “incorrect” feelings like fantasising about your abusive parent being kind and gentle to you, or you forgiving them, or any number of other emotional states and fantasies that don’t neatly fit into popular narratives about abuse. All of those things are absolutely worth exploring and unpacking in art, I just don’t get the sense that spn is doing that at all, so Lebanon reads not like an earnest engagement with the aforementioned topics but a soft endorsement of violent fatherhood.

I think a really good counter example is actually Mary! Now she’s not abusive to her children at all, but she is allowed to have a complicated relationship with Sam and Dean that is messy and uncomfortable and awkward and vulnerable and tragic and tender and cruel and everything in between. THATS good shit. But in order to make sense of spn’s views on white American masculinity, the audience has to be reassured that John was basically headed in the right direction with his kids even if he fucked up sometimes, and if you reject spn’s conception of masculinity (which I do), then John’s presence in the show becomes much more uncomfortable.

[vampiremourning]

I’ve been moving so I haven’t had time to sit and work on anything really which is unfortunate because school is starting up again ech

butttttttt anyway my self indulgent thoughts that have been sort-of keeping me afloat recently are the rumblings of a couple new ocs who i probably wont end up doing anything with as far as posting goes since the recent reception of my stuff in general just kinda depresses me more lmao but moving on. i keep thinking about my weirdo human oc and her yautja partner, and how they met at the end of a hunt when the bones had been collected and were being brought back to the ship. she's a bit of a weirdo who inadvertently just sort of flaked away from her old life. didn't really mesh with anyone, wasnt hated but wasnt cared about either so it was Whatever when she took off to live a bit more remotely to work closer to her art. i maintain she's a taxidermist by trade and idk if this is realistic or not but since its my fantasy and i choose the rules lmao she makes a decent living selling off her pieces. some are just straightforward rebuildings of the creatures she finds but most are weird and wonderful imaginative scenes & sets (think like,, the rat pope thing only Bigger and done better lmao).

so the bones are her thing and she finds herself trying to take home a bear or mountain lion or smth like that's body at the same time the yautja is. she's not a threat to him like. at all lmfao. just this skinny little bewildered thing looking up in shock when he materializes. the acceptance is,,, weirdly quick actually? like there's an element of wonder ofc but she's still like 'well. strange shit happens all the damn time why not this too.' and in a wild act of autopilot starts to ask him about the other trophies he's hanging onto. i think he would be slightly confused by this but also like. its oddly endearing lmao, just extremely earnest in her curiosity.

something something time passes and a real ~relationship~ starts up between them with every earth visit (she offers to display the trophies, which,, hmm, no, but he Does bring her carcasses specifically for her to work with separate from the trophies lmao) & he just thinks shes the greatest. like yes, very much odd, but still, she's fantastic. 10/10 listener, pretty funny, good looking as far as he can tell, there's really not much to dislike tbh. he's slightly confused about her chosen lifestyle though, bc as far as he knows the humans are also social creatures not unlike his own species and he just assumes that there must be other people in the area somewhere she spends time with, it doesnt make any sense otherwise that there wouldnt be, & she was just so open and social with him in spite of the fact that he wasnt human, surely some other people must be around to appreciate that too?

ofc thats when the conversation gets a bit awkward and she tries to think of someone to seem less pathetic in the eyes of the hunter who, for whatever godforsaken reason, thinks she's interesting enough to keep coming back here for. well, um, not exactly like that? i mean, i do talk to people sometimes. um. when i sell sculptures to them, or when i have to go food shopping. i think the video store clerk knows my name, probably? hahah um. yeah. & for the first time it finally clicks that there is 100% a reason she seems so excited whenever he drops by and gives her the time of day, even for a little bit. those several-week stretches between visits are more than likely very quiet for her, & are almost certainly void of any conversations deeper than asking if she wanted reusable or plastic bags. and she seems kinda :/ unhappy that this has come up conversationally too, bc in her mind now he knows that there must be something wrong with her if she isnt normal in that particular way, and she was kinda hoping to keep that hidden or at least severely downplayed, because he's not From Here; maybe he wouldnt know? maybe she could just pretend?

its not something he can just kill and fix, but maybe theres something he could offer. would she like to come with him for a bit? not long, just a couple weeks. see the stars & some new lands (he would probably pick places that had '''easy''' hunts to ensure she would have a ride back to earth lmao), a break in routine to take her mind off of things + give some sort of legitimate excuse for not being able to talk to anyone. its a weird + temporary solution but his heart is in the right place and you know as scared as i think she would be (space travel is a Lot) i think she would end up having fun. it Would be new and exciting and most importantly, she would not be experiencing it alone. i mean, yes, he's been to space hundreds of times before, its not new for him, but he sort of gets to re-live that initial wow emotion through someone else and tbh thats pretty special.

i have more probably on this but its late so :p thats all there is for now

[saturnaftertaste]

idk man i just made some mexican ramen and watched that episode of the office again (the one with pam’s art show and michael’s business school breakdown) and just. idk. like i was just thinking about the end where michael gets all emotional about the picture that pam painted of their building and like how he calls it art, and to him it is ART it makes him emotional it makes him experience feelings and like not five minutes earlier oscar and his boyfriend were like ‘real art takes courage’ but the thing about pam was that her doing the art show in the first place WAS her display of courage and no one even showed up to cheer her on. but then michael comes up and like, tells her he’s proud of her but it’s not fake or insincere or anything and i’m getting to my point but bear with me, but the point of those five seconds was that he connected with the art that pam had made, right, like after the day he had had where he’s told that human connection doesn’t stand a chance in the face of like, capitalism or whatever, and then pam shows him this painting of the place that he loves and maybe it’s ‘motel art’ but it speaks to him enough that he can genuinely tell her loves it and thats he’s proud of her, and like that’s just what art is right? like you just draw things or paint or sing or record or sculpt things with meaning to you and you hope that someone else sees the meaning in them too, and like at its very most basic form art is just another way of like, holding someone’s hand and pointing it to the thing that made you feel something and maybe the other person will feel something different based on what they’ve been through in life, but in that moment these two people who are looking at something intentionally made to say something (doesnt matter what the something is) they are connected through the act of intent. like i know the office is just like a sitcom or whatever that ran for 9 seasons and is most well-known for thats what she said jokes but every once in a while they just say-but-dont-say small profound truths about the universe idk idk maybe im reading too much into it but also idk i think sometimes people should just do more things with more love for the thing they are doing. art is about authenticity about saying real things about putting your love into a tangible form that maybe others can understand and share in too. just express what you want to express feel what you want to feel because the world could do with a little more earnestness

[carbootsoul]

UM edgeworth!!

edgeworth!!!! love that man

favorite thing about them: i love how completely earnest he is. this man comes back from his fake suicide european vacation with his heart on his metaphorical sleeve and starts talking about the truth constantly. the way he talks about phoenix to other people too.. he has his values and the things he loves and he absolutely WILL NOT shut up about them but in a very restrained way. (i would say. i would say that this aspect of klavier is absolutely inspired by edgeworth and i really love that. u can tell teenage klavier got to idolize the new and improved edgeworth and it worked out for him)

least favorite thing about them: i mean the running away to europe thing is kind of a sticky point right. also the being a man

favorite line: oh i mean he has so many iconically stupid lines. that time in aa1 where he's like "you make a mockery of the court, wright! take off your badge 🙄 actually also take off the rest of your clothes" what the fuck man

brOTP: ever platonic relationship edgeworth has is the most important thing in the world to me so honorary mentions to ema and gumshoe and kay and everyone BUT edgeworth having friendly relations with klavier is something that gets me every single time. edgeworth looks at klavier and sees him when he was younger and klavier looks at edgeworth and sees kristoph but better and slowly they start to see each other as the people they actually are, not just who they remind each other of..

OTP: i mean. narumitsu

nOTP: all of the obviously weird ones + gumworth

random headcanon: i think he says swear words actually and unlike phoenix does not make a concentrated effort to stop swearing around teenagers. they all find this incredibly entertaining.

unpopular opinion: hm oh this man is not buff im sorry everyone should stop writing him with a six pack nothing is worse than reading a fic thats mostly normal and then getting to a paragraph where they randomly fit in that this lawyer with a desk job and a sports car has sculptured abs

song i associate with them: achilles come down by gang of youths! also hello my old heart by the oh hellos :)

favorite picture of them: all the old official art is so good so i couldn't decide (also these images were going to be much bigger if i only picked one) obviously shout out to the one where he's wearing a frilly apron and has a picture of phoenix shirtless and also to the one where he's pretending to be santa for the wright anything agency.. iconic

[zigsexual]

Hey! I see you have good story telling recs for like video games and stuff and I just got a ps4, is there anything you recommend? I have wolf among us and Detroit become human on my list THATS all I have so far

omg girl u have come to the RIGHT place ! story-based games are my shit ok... im gonna start by doing a lil self-plug which is that i’m streaming one i really love called firewatch tonight (at 7pm PST hehe) on my twitch so we can start with that one. its such a pretty game and has a really touching story. but that aside, non-exhaustive list below:

the last of us — i havent played the second one yet, but both 1&2 are playstation exclusive i believe and the first one is probably one of the greatest games ever made. better than most movies i’ve watched story-wise; i fell in love with the characters and i doubt anyone could play this without shedding a few tears.

the walking dead by telltale — same studio that made the wolf among us (which i fucking love also), and all four seasons of this game are a masterpiece. clementine is probably my all time favorite video game character, and there were some side characters who i really sobbed over during the course of the game. plus all the characters you play as are characters of color so there’s a specific attention to diverse viewpoints there!

life is strange — i would hope you’d have played this already if you like story games, but if not, go play the original game ASAP (LiS2 is alright, but the first one is what really shines) and you can also play the prequel before the storm. beautiful atmosphere, attention to detail, gameplay mechanics, etc. good good shit

dragon age — HELLO my fave shit omg, again not to self-plug but i’m gonna be doing a stream series of this and starting with an intro to the lore for beginners because there is serious worldbuilding for these games and the storylines are immaculate. there’s three so far and including the various DLC you will be entertained for weeks if not months.

mass effect — made by the same studio as dragon age, essentially it’s dragon age in space. same great characters, worldbuilding, plotlines, etc. just... ignore andromeda and only play the main three ME games.

uncharted — i will fucking die for naughty dog games omg so they also made the last of us plus all 4 uncharted games and these ones are SO much fun. much less emotional turmoil, think indiana jones in the present day with an extra serving of wisecracking banter and there you go. really excellent fully fleshed out female characters as well. nathan drake is a treasure.

until dawn — more of a horror game but has weirdly excellent actors (hello rami malek???) and a super cool/creepy story with not so much focus on combat (more QTE based) which helps when you’re just there to be entertained. i love this game, i’m not a huge horror person myself but it’s just so good and your choices really impact the outcome.

oxenfree — deeply underrated game with some of my favorite voice acting ever, such a gorgeous art style, and an incredible and resonant story. so much lore to unpack here too, this game was really made with so much love (like there is deadass a morse code message hidden in the beat of the main song that leads to an irl mystery... google that shit its so cool) and it has major replay value. lots of choices to make and they all impact the ending in a ton of ways.

pillars of eternity — i actually liked the second one more than the first one and i enjoyed them both a lot so that’s saying something! you can play on easy mode and ignore the fighting and there’s tons of quests and choices to make and an interesting story/mystery to uncover. plus in the second one you get a pirate ship.

divinity original sin 2 — played this recently and it’s definitely more of a combat game, but as with POE you can just play on the easiest setting lol and then explore the game for its world and storyline. similar to POE in that it’s quest-based as well, the characters are super well done, and it’s all voice-acted which is nice.

star wars knights of the old republic (aka KOTOR) — listen this game is old as hell and looks like ass but its so good. idk what else to say i mean its literally like 20 years old and people are still playing it. there’s a ton of mods you can download to make it look better, but the storyline and the plot twist hold up as one of the all time greats. i’ve replayed it and the sequel multiple times. even if you don’t like star wars, worth it.

stardew valley — HELLO THIS GAME IS SO CUTE its essentially just harvest moon and yes it’s pixel graphics but it’s so charming and the characters are very enchanting. there’s not a ton of story but it’s still worth a play as it’s just very soothing and earnest. i’ve logged like 200+ hours in this game lmao

hopefully you haven’t heard of all of these already!! i love all of these games and i love sharing story-based recs because there aren’t a lot of them out there. if anyone knows of any other good ones please drop ur thoughts in the replies!

[a-little-slice-of-fandom]

Why I (still) dislike Anna!Parr’s Costume

So before I start, I just want to say that it’s fine if you personally like Anna’s new costume for broadway. I’m happy that you can like something that I personally don’t and I respect your opinion. This is all just what I think.

So firstly, to understand my personal dislike of this new costume you also need to understand how I see Parr why I love her so much as a character, including Anna!Parr. Parr doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the queens in the show: she doesn’t say very much until the last 15 minutes, she’s generally calm and collected when 4 other queens are pretty much incapable of doing either of those things, and she’s very much a character who doesn’t like to draw attention to herself. Parr is earnest and genuine, but she’s also (in my opinion) a little reluctant to open herself up to the other queens. There are exceptions to this rule, but overall that’s how I few Parr. And Cleves is very much the same as Parr in some regards, preferring to watch the other queens and do her own thing instead of being fuelled by a need to win the competition.

And you know what? The original costumes perfectly reflect these character traits! Parr and Cleves have costumes that, while still being quite stylised, are nowhere near as out there as say Howard’s or Aragon’s costumes. They’re understated, just like those queens instead of being incredibly flashy. Now I personally like some of the new elements to Brittney!Cleves outfit, since her Cleves is a more melodramatic and grandiose version of the character and the costume (for the most part) reflects that. However, Anna!Parr isn’t a more melodramatic or flashy version of the character. While she’s not say Vicki!Parr levels of shyness, she’s not a fully confident version of Parr either. She has confidence, but it’s not enough of a character trait to justify amplifying the glitter and sparkles to such a degree. I understand that people expect flashy costumes for broadway and that the queens should all mostly match, but the thing is Parr’s character has an element non-conformity “tonight I’m singing this for me and again, does stick out from the rest of the queens...so why not have her costume reflect that? It’s a great way to convey to the audience throughout the show that Parr isn’t going to do something just because the other queens do it (because one of the flaws of six is that queens don’t get much characterisation up until their song). I just,,,I don’t think Parr needs to be flashy and glitzy. It doesn’t fit with her character, and costumes are literally supposed to embody the character.

And obviously, we have to talk about that bloody peplum...

Look, I don’t like the Parr peplum (or parrlum lol) because it just doesn’t fit with her costume, in the same way the orange costumes’ peplums don’t fit. Because fashion designers usually don’t put peplums on trousers. I actually love the new Seymour and Aragon costumes! And in fact, the peplums work there! A friend in the year below me studies fashion as part of her alevel art course, and she says the reason that Aragon’s and Seymour’s peplums work is because they compliment the rest of the outfit, because their outfits come out of their body frame. But trousers don’t go out from Anna’s frame, they follow it, so the peplum coming out isn’t complimenting the costume’s silloute or enhancing it: it’s clashing with it! Some people don’t mind this clash or they find it works for them, but others are going to find it looks really slightly odd to them and this reaction can be explained. It’s the same way some people can’t stand certain clashing colours together.

And yes I think I literally just got a proper, technical explanation for why people so many people react so horribly to the trouser/peplum outfits. Sometimes all you have to do is ask a fashion student I guess. And while I’m not saying everyone has this reaction...it does explain why people don’t like it from a technical point of view.

I’m not saying I can make better costumes than Gabriella Slade, and I’m definitely not saying Toby and Lucy should be allowed anywhere near the costume box (do I need to insert a picture of the student runs costumes?). But all I’m saying is that people are allowed to dislike this new costume because of characterisation and technical reasons. Again, if this costume works for you then thats cool! I’m not trying to change your mind! But I and many others don’t, and I feel I have good reasons for doing so.

[ghostfruits]

hey can i ask a personal question for the members of ghostfruits; how do u guys personally deal with suicidal ideation and self harm? i notice that theres alot of mentions of death/depression/suicide/etc in your comics, and im a huge fan of you guys and im currently struggling with my own demons and thought I would ask. i hope this isnt too intrusive, feel free to ignore me.. - a suicidal, depressed fan.

i know we’re in public rn but i’m gonna just talk to u like a person, real quick. im going to talk to u like i would have if u were like in front of me

its like 2am and so im worried i might not be as lucid as i think. im sorry in advance if this is like, whole gibberish

im gonna speak for just myself, as the the person who is most often inserting specifically that kind of shit into our work, but definitely not like, the only person on this side like massively struggling with a similar variety of things

i dont know

a lot of people seem to be making work about problems they Used To have, and like ways they Used To feel, and like overcame, and then it becomes safe for them to make like, art about it. like the turmoil happens behind the scenes and then they like open up abt it publically after the fact via art. or at least like thats what im seeing happen, or like, ppl talk abt like "i made this bc it would have helped me figure my shit out sooner if someone had made s/t like this for me" and the like, probably dissappointing truth of it here is i'm bleeding in like real time. i dont have solutions to it. you and me are both in the immediate thick of the same kind of emotion. i didnt manage to puzzle it out. when i was 9 i started feeling like i wanted to kill myself and im 25 and ive wanted that, still, the entire time. i dont all the way know why its like that. sometimes i used to think it was like, a reaction to specific kinds of hardship or loss or dissatisfaction with my circumstances, but lately ive been worried that maybe good things or good times or good feelings are just like, distracting me from something that is my Actual desire, that being dead is the path im just like occassionally straying from. when i say that out loud i have a really easy time imagining a second person telling me that isnt a healthy thing to be saying or feeling, which usually means it isnt, but thats like, really how i am feeling, that is really where i am at with it. that probably means i dont have any business directing another persons like, outlook on it

so

while i cant tell you how to live with it, or cope with it, or manage it, bc im not doing any of those things, i can tell you really confidently that i dont think you should be dead, and you're being misdirected by either yourself or the world or like something else altogether into thinking thats the key that fits into whatevers in front of you. i know i dont know you, but i know like, a lot of people, and iv never felt like any of them should be dead. ive never met anybody who i thought itd be like fine if they died. theres people im hugely indifferent to, theres people i hate, there are people who have hurt me or others enormously and ive still never thought in earnest like "this persons best plan of attack i think is to kill themselves"not like anybody. not like anybody ever. iv said some fucking wild shit abt niggas but iv never said that, and i cant imagine ever saying it. or thinking it, or feeling it. i dont imagine youd be like an exception to that

thats easy to say, but, im not the person who has to live with it tho. thats easy to say to you but you still have to wake up tomorrow and live out whatever has got you so fucked up you're at like, a death point with it, and if youre coming here to ask abt it, youve probably exhausted a lot of other options already ill bet. and its like, probably wack as fuck to meet like another dead end here too. i dont know if youre still reading this even. i probably wouldnt be. iv had madd niggas hem and haw at me forever abt "temporary problems permanent solutions" and then just like shuffle me out of their office or living room or whatever and expect im not supposed to like pop myself on their doorstep. niggas acting like im fucking playing. like i got it out of my system bc we had one conversation and now im supposed to go eat lunch and be regular. idk. id be very mad at me, if i were you. i dont know if you are, but i wouldnt blame you for that. the reason i say all this is to articulate like;its possible that after hitting another roadblock here, youll feel like, "ok then fuck it" and like set your sights on just like, doing it. like bc i didnt have any jewels for u it would like reinforce it maybe. i would like u to consider this tho;

theres MADD niggas smarter than me. i was extremely useless to you just now. this is not like the pinnacle of help you're ever going to get. the answers you need for this exist even if youve already turned over a dozen rocks and theyve all been like, as useless, as this, tht has like absolutely no bearing on if the next rock will have useless shit under it. every single time u flip a coin it has the exact same chance of going one way or the other. this like did not have the medicine u need in it but the main thing i would want to stress to u is that it *does* exist and uve just had like a supremely shitty time finding it

somebodys got it. the only thing i can like confidently promise u is that somewhere, somebody, definitely knows the answer to this. u might be the person even. im not sure. /i/ def havent found it but like its in the mix somewhere. idk

i cant prove it to u but im positive ur not done yet, & you should stay

i didnt read back over any of this after i typed it, & so im gonna apologize again if it was just like, fullblown nonsense

[falling-between-the-cracks]

16. The gays (continue to) break my heart

January 2019

In the past few weeks I have multiple times thought about how continuously the gay community continues to break my heart. Each day one piece at a time it rips into my heart and shatters it. Since I came out, nearing on 4 years ago, and began to look for a significant other in earnest I have been thinking about the problems I personally have with the gay community and in fact they all bottle down to 3 major problems. 

1. The art of monogamy

I am slightly shocked at the rate of open relationships within the gay community and I’m not sure where this springs from. Why are we so frivolous? In fact this is rapidly becoming my top hate against the gay community, especially after yesterday when I finally managed to get the truth out of rower boy, who is surprise surprise in a relationship with someone. For 2.5 years, who he loves. Which is fair I am happy for you, honestly but why are you out here flirting with other guys, trying to hook up with other guys if you love your boyfriend so much. Where is our commitment to a single person? Open relationships are not something I could ever do or approve of I’m afraid. It is not something I want to get near either. For me, personally, sex can be meaningless activity but if I am in a committed relationship it is an intimate way of showing my feelings for the person I am with, And I would not, and would not appreciate having someone, see, flirt or be with anyone else whilst we are in a committed relationship. And nowhere is this more evident than on grindr, where I kid you not every other profile is an open relationship, or a couple looking for a third. I will take my relationship without this spice, thank you very much.

2. Pride and Prejudice

My second problem should actually top this list because it is such an inherent problem within the gay community, especially being a minority ethnic group I have without a doubt been subject to prejudice from countless men because what my skin isn’t as white as yours bitch? I don’t think I could ever come to terms with the hatred, pride and prejudice that exists within the gay community and I am truly disappointed each day because I find it ridiculously everywhere. Again grindr is where this is most evident, where you will get blocked immediately because hey that bitch ain’t white, or not enough muscles or too “twinkish”. Like WTF is your problem? Who hurt you? Because I can get we all have types. Some prefer broad men, others short men, others thin men, others men with beards and so on and so on. But WHY must there be this incessant hate spewing out of your mouth. Simply tell me you don’t think we could work. Also why are you judging me of the basis of my skin or the number of abs I have? I could be the funniest most loving on earth and you have no idea. The prejudice that exists against minorities in particular is exhausting. White people need to calm the fuck down honestly. As a matter of fact I read this article yesterday where chappy, the gay dating app, did research and found 50% of men want a racial filter on dating apps, and 33% of BAME (black and minority ethnic) men have felt discrimination. 33%! Can i repeat that number 33%. 1 in 3. Look around you. See 3 people? One was discriminated against because they ain’t white. There was this post I saw earlier about this wholesome exchange on grindr. These two guys had messaged each other and found out they were both bottoms, and so one apologizes to the other, and the other one says No, don’t apologize thats how the straights kept us down for so many years. We are essentially tearing ourselves apart. We have the straights to do that for us, why must we do that to each other. Maybe this is my naivety but honest to goodness this is a problem that needs to be solved. Especially the masc4masc men, they need to be stoppped. A poster I saw recently perfectly summed this up; 

3. Am I looking in a mirror?

My final problem, though this is not really a problem more of a realisation is that I find most gay men are in relationships with essentially themselves. Have a look at the gay couple you know or the ones you follow on instagram, most of their partners are a carbon copy of themselves. Infact this has become a meme within the gay community and elsewhere, that we are often confused for brothers. Well honey why do you think that might be? If I was dating a white boy sure enough nobody would be confusing us for brothers? I don’t know this is definitely not a problem, and just an observation but I’ve kept it on here because it is something that bothers me. And i guess that it comes down to pride and prejudice, you are essentially conciousl or not searching for someone like you so this would make sense.

I don’t know where this post came from, I know I’ve been wanting to do it for a while, but I wanted to do it justice, and I don’t know if I’ve done that but the whole situation with rower boy yesterday I think propelled me to write this sometime. I think I will reflect on my own dating record sometime, because boy is that a rollercoaster but for now I just feel sad, and a bit alone, but its time for me to go anyway so yeah thats todays post I guess, very little reflection but I got some of my anger out atleast. 

[superfan99records]

A Born Fighters Guide to LA and London

Not so long ago Peter and Luke were strangers but through a shared love of 70s music, vintage guitars and their pets (Denny the cat and George the dog) the universe brought them together in 2019. The two quickly became best of mates making light work of the 5000 miles that separated them. They describe the project as a “transatlantic power pop postal service” sending demos back and forth over the net and chipping away at song ideas from a distance. As you can imagine, organising a band practice is a little different than for most bands but not to be deterred they return next month with a follow up to debut ‘Little Green Tree’ titled ‘Shadow’. We thought we'd get them to recommend their favourite spots in their respective cities of LA and London.

The best pub/dive bar for people watching

Luke (London) - The east end has a tonne. I'm quite fond of my local The Horn of Plenty in Stepney at the moment. It has a weird mix of young people and old locals. Jukebox is half decent too. I've seen some pretty funny scenes at Forest Road Brewing Taproom. The beer is strong and it's open so late it collects the dregs when surrounding bars kick out. Karaoke on Saturdays is frankly a mess.

Peter (LA)  - Same goes for the east side here. Glendale Tap has always been a great spot to hang and play some free pool. Not a hip place by any means but thats part of why I love it. A watering hole for an eclectic mix of young and old. My all time favorite dive for people watching used to be Smog Cutter before it closed a few years ago. Imagine doing karaoke in a closet that also had a pool table in it, all while being yelled at by two older women behind the bar if you stopped drinking. It was a trip. The front of the bar appears in the music video for Miss Misery by Elliott Smith along with many other east side staples.

The finest vintage guitar shop

Luke - Wunjo on Denmark St always has some cool second hand stuff and they are always helpful. They have a cool selection of Japanese uglies usually and are quite well priced (for Denmark St at least).

Peter - I love making the trip out to Norman’s Rare Guitars in the valley as cliché as it may be. There is something to be said about playing a guitar worth more than every piece of gear you own put together! It’s humbling. But when I am looking for something I will not be afraid to gig with, I’ll see what they have on the floor at Old Style Guitars in Silver Lake. They always seem to have a really interesting selection of used guitars ranging from budget players to oddball rarities.

Luke - I trekked to Normans once with my brother in law through heavy traffic to find it was shut so the wait goes on for my first trip.

The best slice of pizza

Luke - Voodoo Rays. I'm not vegan but their Queen Vegan slice with pesto, olives and artichoke is lush.  

Peter - Town Pizza in Highland Park. The Town Molé has got to be my favorite pizza this side of the Mississippi.

Luke - I went here with you when we recorded the first single. Can concur that it is great. Never had a Jalapeno and Pineapple combo before, was finally the answer of how to use Pineapple correctly on a pizza.

Record Shopping

Luke - Hands down Reckless Records on Berwick St. I always look at the 'new in' bin by the front door first. Everything is well priced and I often trade a lot of stuff with them too. For new records I like Stranger Than Paradise in Hackney which has only been open about a year.

Peter - The newly opened Permanent Records Roadhouse in Cypress Park has quickly become my favorite. Great selection of imported records and great beer on tap. I enjoy occasionally popping into Jacknife records in Atwater Village as well.

Luke - Loved Jacknife, such an amazing huge tape collection. Felt very unique in there as it’s a really slim alleyway like store.

Book shop

Luke - Donlon Books on Broadway Market has lots of cool vintage and rare books and the new stuff is very nicely curated.

Peter - The Last Bookstore in Downtown never disappoints. Great selection, and the iconic “book tunnel” is always a great photo opp.

Luke - Thinking about it, Artwords Bookshop on Rivington St is ace too. Could spend hundreds in there in no time.

Music venue

Luke - The main hall at The Barbican for bigger shows and concerts. I mean it's a work of art and always such a treat to sit in that room. Every detail of it is beautiful and it sounds incredible too. For small shows The Shacklewell although sounding god awful has a charm and electricity about it.

Peter - Lodge Room in Highland Park is my favorite place to see a show. It’s an old masonic hall built in 1922 (well, old for America) with wonderful acoustics and a great sound system. Favorite venues to play are either The Echo or Gold Diggers.

Luke - I just googled The Lodge, what a pretty room!

Cinema

Luke - I lived in Brixton for years so I'm gonna say screen 1 at The Ritzy. I do like the new Curzon in Aldgate near me though as my regular these days, has a cool bar too.

Peter - I love the Vista Theatre in Silver Lake for its charm and decadent interior, but when you want to shell out for the full experience and the big comfy chairs, the ArcLight in Hollywood is ace.

Luke - The Dome at the ArcLight is a must for tourists like me. Never seen a screen like that and love the 60s architecture. So cool.

The cities finest coffee

Luke - Climpson & Sons on Broadway Market. Always a big queue on a Saturday or Sunday but worth it as you can then have a little stroll around London Fields with your coffee in hand. Lovely stuff.

Peter - Collage Coffee in Highland Park. The shop itself is the size of a closet, any more than three people at the counter and it feels packed! But the drinks are made to perfection, and the Kouign Amann pastry is hard to pass up if they are not sold out (and they do quite often).

The cities best park for thinking, views, nature  

Luke - Victoria Park has really well kept gardens and lovely wildlife too. It has a lake, well more of a large pond where you hire row boats. I always think it's like the London miserable sad version of Echo Park lake.

Peter - The park I find myself going to the most these days is the Eagle Rock Dog Park with George. It’s a great place to sit and decompress after a long day while he goes around and makes friends with all of the other pups. For a more traditional park, Earnest E. Debs Regional Park is wonderful, especially in the spring when everything is green and flowering.

Hidden gem of the city

Luke - Not such a hidden gem but I have a lot of love for Canavans Pool Club in Peckham. Drinks are cheap and whats better than shooting pool with some mates while being soundtracked by 90s garage?

Peter - Being a sandwich fanatic, I can’t help but mention Larchmont Wine & Cheese here. Best sandwich in LA. Quite simple by nature, but all of the ingredients are incredibly fresh.