#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

[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.

[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)

[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

[palegreenchlorine]

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.

[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.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… Untucked (S09E06) Snatch Game Airdate: April 29, 2017 @wowreport Ratings: 593,000+ on @youtube as of 6/15/17 Score: 8/10

**********SPOILERS BELLW**********

I made a specific contestant a promise I would go ahead and watch Untucked to not only highlight the juxtaposition of my styles of writing when it comes the two totally different series (one competition, one what’s morphed into a show of spirit and sense of community), but also because Drag Race is simply a tough one for me to review. I have a lot of respect for everyone that comes on the show and demonstrates that ‘fire’, and I get caught up in trying to both critique ‘Drag Race’ as the competition style calls for and pad my blunt critiques with humor that can be sometimes taken the wrong way. Last week’s 'Untucked’, I focused heavily on Nina, I recognized a pattern, certain tendencies, withdrawing fro. The group, and a look of the eyes that I know all too well because I myself have battled depression, addiction, dependency, a slew of shit (as most of us have) and had to figure out how to maneuver life without throwing up too many buckets of water on myself when I start to get white hot. It’s not easy, but for some people it is… And sometimes those very people want to say, 'Get over it’, 'Suck it up’, or write you off… Depression, self doubt, all these things that plague us in the cycle of the human condition are not something you can just wipe off the mirror like lipstick… But I see you Queens struggling with that too, so…

We start this 'Untucked’ off with a bit of fun, the same fun we aren’t exactly seeing translate to VH1 on the 'Main Stage’… Then again VH1 was the network that picked Wendy Williams to host the between breaks 'Viewing Party’. Just ask our buddy Jonny McGovern & his friend Erickatoure why that’s not the best move… Better yet just go subscribe to his channel on YouTube. 'Hey Qween’ is literally just waiting for you, calling your name, just sitting on YouTube Red’s digital shelf waiting for you to watch until your eyes turn glossy & red, leaving you pupils dilated to the size of mega saucers… And when you finally emerge from your house everyone will assume your either a tweaker or from Wilton Manors.

Apparently Trinity Taylor, God Bless her Floridian soul, has never seen 'Bad Girls Club’ or been the only white girl in the room… As she has no clue what 'edges’ are. I can’t tell you why this is so damn funny to me, maybe it’s Shea’s earnest and surprisingly highly detailed & accurate attempt at educating Trinity on the matter (This is emerging as Shea’s specialty, not the history and extensive knowledge of edges, but breaking things down in articulate manner that anyone can follow - plus she’s talent personified)… Maybe it’s Valentina’s adorably juvenile delivery of the line she delivers to Trinity explaining to her that she has her own form of edges, 'that black spray stuff you be spraying, DUH!’ But as god as my witness, there are simply no words to describe the laughter this scene inspires!

Trinity still doesn’t get it, she’s 'from the south’ she says we don’t use words like 'Edges’… Tho, again, I’m gonna have to break something down… South Florida and even parts of Central Florida aren’t really the south. Consider us more of the North Caribbean, hell we aren’t even really a part of the United States, thats just what it looks like on the map so everyone including your parents and teachers have told you so. But yeah, 'edges’ are most definitely still a word down here in the 'North Carribean’. Valentina’s adorableness continues… Her Hispanic background leads her to really appreciate Trinity’s astonishing ability to be 'so evil and so nice at the same time’. See, that’s how we do it here in South & Central FL… We love you, but we simply don’t have time to dance around your feelings. We’ll give you the shirt off of our backs then have you lay down in a mud puddle so we can walk over you. I’m kidding, of course. We’d obviously pick you you up and give you a peck on the cheek, dust off the mud and take our fn’ shirt back. It’s just the way the bottom half of Florida works, and that’s why I 'get’ and love Trinity Taylor so very much. Now that we got some proper Florida representation, maybe S10 we can get South Florida’s legendary 'Daisy Deadpetals’ finally on this show! Ru, please?

Enter the tops and the bottoms… Tho Alexis clearly states, 'This top is versatile.’ Told you, Alex, we could have so much fun. Tho for me it’s always much more about the passion and connection than it is about the final act. We’re getting way off topic. Sasha and Alexis go back and forth telling the others how much the judges praised each other… There is a deep respect between the two and though I absolutely loved Sasha’s 'Marlene Dietrich’ and did pad my opinion with a bit of comedy on the 'Main Stage’ review… I do want to set the record straight and say Alexis’s Liza was most definitely a highlight. Seeing the top two sit across from each other with their dignified 'Northern Poise’ is quite the scene… And Alexis’s shape from the side is nothing short of astounding. If the hair was different and the dress were pants, it would be spot on to my favorite Madonna… 'Bedtime Stories’ Madonna, particularly 'Human Nature’. Either way, I love it and for some reason Sasha’s poise is so proper I can’t help but keep rolling the word 'Yankee’ through my head… I don’t know how to interpret that for you, but I have it on pause and can’t stop laughing.

With VH1 taking the show in such a vastly different direction, I can’t say how much I appreciate this 'Untucked’ enough. Alexis, Shea, and Sasha look to immediately focus on Nina who needs a bit of love after the strange exploitation of her depression reared its ugly head the episode before last of 'Drag Race’. It’s clear Nina is feeling a bit better at this point but those kinds of battles are never over. These three obviously are aware of that and I want to show love to all three of them, particularly Shea who goes the extra mile for her and really tries to continue to hammer things back into perspective for Nina. This is the 'Drag Race’ I want to see. People have criticized the show for being too 'best friend race’ as they have with Slice’s RHOT… But we do enough of beating each other down, especially when you are in a high pressure situation constantly trying to squeeze every last drop of creativity that you can for the next challenge and the next and being paraded around on a runway and criticized, by both the judges and the world… I’m happy to see (however you want put this) the brotherly/sisterly… Straight up human empathy shining under the bright stage lights of television.

The bottoms… Peppermint, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, and Farrah Moan speak next. Peppermint is frustrated that she nailed Brittany in a prior challenge, but couldn’t nail Nene Leakes. It’s much different when you are given a character with lines & direction than when you literally have to create one from scratch… Then again, everyone knows 'Snatch Games’ is coming, so they really do need to be prepared. Farrah looks stunning, and is clearly saved by her fantastic runway look, I’m still curious as to who Gigi was or why anyone would care… Then again I’m in my 30’s and an ex-athlete, Ginger Cub who thinks the thicker the better… Im not scouring the internet for makeup tips. Either way, Farrah is just very young for this competition. Bring her back in 5-10 years and she’d be a massive threat. Her talent is there, it just needs a few years of experience before she can really show what she’s made of.

I often find myself very frustrated with Cynthia Lee Fontaine. This is a competition, I want to see the best of the best battle it out. This is Cynthia’s second time on the show and she’s screwing up essential Drag Race portions of the show… But here, she’s just so defeated, but she instantly goes through a horde of emotions within 2 seconds and is all the sudden firing herself back up with her own words, and it melts me. Despite any critiques I give as a judge would in my reviews of the 'Main Stage’, I’m a softie on the inside and nobody does Cynthia like Cynthia Lee Fontaine. I just don’t think a 2nd stent on 'Drag Race’ was in order, but there is something about that fighting spirit Cynthia displays that I feel needs to be seen, not just by this younger generation, but by everyone. Alexis takes note and proposes a toast, “L'chaim”, bitches!

World Of Wonder, come through! If VH1 has the producers focusing on the negative, then WOW always has their own freedom with 'Untucked’ to make up for that… And they do. Our girl Nina needed this video message from her mother, and that soft, loving, and tender look Nina shoots the screen that you can see if you pause the show right at 13:49 is all I needed and wanted for Nina. Keep pushing, girl… And listen to Shea! That’s a true friend, and there aren’t that many of those in the world. Like I keep saying, you can always tell who the strongest men and women in the room are… They are the ones lifting everyone up, instead of tearing them all apart.

Before I close out yet another long-winded love letter to World Of Wonder’s 'Untucked’ and all the contestants in this show… As I’ve explained in the past, I’ve always had an extremely tough time with the gay community. I sold myself at Johnny’s in Ft Lauderdale for years and nearly destroyed myself after my Aunt (who was like my sister) took her own life. My past experiences made it difficult for me to separate sex and shame, I will not point fingers as to why, but I’ve opened up about it in other reviews and will continue to do so as I sort it out as I go along. My critiques for the main stage of 'Drag Race’ are always difficult to navigate. I have a deep respect for the art form and contestants of Drag Race from Jaymes Mansfield to Nina BoNina Brown to Alexis Michelle and everyone in between, but like Trinity Taylor I try to tell it like it is from a loving place. I enjoy writing about the show. I enjoy watching the show. And if I’ve ever offended a contestant or said something that crossed a line or was taken the wrong way, I apologize. I fight to kind of hold onto the gay community in a weird way through this show, because my experiences with said community have been mainly negative in real life… Whether I was selling myself on stage at Johnny’s or Boardwalk… Or being introduced to methamphetamine at an early age.

I write because it’s my passion, and I’m starting to make a nice living at it and turning my dreams into reality. I said something in my last review of 'Drag Race’ and attempted to pad it with humor and the person who it affected respectfully came to me and talked to me about it directly. I appreciate that… And I think we were both able to see where each other were coming from and hopefully a friendship will come of it. But then this morning I wake up to death threats, 'kill yourself’, and a variety of hate speech from a community that I’ve never been able to find that true piece of love and acceptance I needed… One that for some reason is the hardest on me than any other community or subject I write on. I’m not over here crying about it, but all that nastiness will get you blocked real quick. My Spotlight Saga project, which is growing fast, and I’m happy to tell you all is being built into an online magazine slowly but surely - as well as a place where people can share perspectives to open hearts, minds, mouths, and ears, is my baby and I will fight for it till the end of time. There’s nothing in this world that I do half assed, my momma sure of that. So show love, address each other with respect, and fools… Don’t come at me crazy, cuz I’m not throwing the towel in anytime soon.

[housedzemael-archived]

Falkon - Death Domain Cleric 

Various Personality Test Results for My Own Reference Under the Cut for Space

God this took so much longer than I thought it would.

🔮-  Meyer-Briggs Result

At the moment: Falkon got ISTJ-A, or “The Logistician” which from a short read of the first paragraph, feels correct. Though he’s not tied to an order dedicated to upholding Laws, in my limited knowledge of the setting he is tirelessly dedicated to his duty to the Swarm. He does in fact take pride, and great effort in what he does, even if his dour outlook tends to make people think otherwise. 

🧠 -  Enneagram Result

Just right off the bat, you can tell Falkon is a me character. 

Apparently, Falkons main type is Type 8, or “I must be strong and in Control to Survive”  which feels correct considering what I know of his guild albeit the limited amount. Here are his total types, for reference. 

🧙 -  Hogwarts House Result

This.... does not feel correct. Also this quiz doesn’t feel particularly high quality. Then again it has also been years since I consumed any HP media in earnest so like, who knows. I’m gonna veto this and say that Falkon is probably Ravenclaw, just for sheet morbid fascination with learning more about death. 

⭐ -  Homestuck ‘True Sign’

I preface this with I know nothing of Homestuck and never read it ever at all

I like that this is called the sign of the Victorious, rings well for Falkons play chance. From reading a bit below, many of these things feel as if they ring true. the Blue Sign (from the text given to me), to bits of the Prospit stuff (though god knows not the optimism) So I’ll take this as a victory, and am interested in seeing what the others get. 

🎨 -  what famous work of art my muse is.

This quiz was extremely lack luster, and generally, I would say this really doesn’t fit. Moving on. 

🎉 -  what role my muse plays in a friend group

I take back everything I’ve ever said about the buzzfeed quizzes ever. This is the most accurate thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I can very well believe Falkon is the Dad :tm: 

☯️ -  psychological archetype

uhhhhh ok. Alright. Lets work with this. This is something I know nothing about again so I have no idea if its right or wrong.

Ok, yeah no. Nevermind. Moving On. 

🎭 -  The Four Temperaments

 Of what I know of the four, this feels the most fitting. He is a bit (*cough cough* very much) a hot head.

💟 -  what kind of ‘dere’ my muse is

I’m just gonna skip this one on Prince that I don’t even know what that is. Like I at least know of Homestuck. This I have no idea. 

⚔️ -  muse’s moral alignment

I’ve given him True Neutral atm the moment, I’m interested to see what this gives me 

Well. Thats unexpected. Considering the only good he really thinks of is for his own community, and not the city as a whole, that probably effected it.

😈 -  which Disney Villain my muse

Yeahhhh uhhh no. General Jo rating not a very good quiz, one of the ones im gonna skip on the others.

💖 -   what my muse’s Love Language scores

God hes apparently a hidden softie. I’m glad.