#still! I think my art’s really getting better. Especially after doing this challenge.

[lunesart]

Drawing Chlostine All February: Day 9

[chuwenjie]

Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse comes out later today so I wanted to write a post reflecting on my journey and experience working on this movie. So many people have supported me through this and I am so thankful to each and every one of you!

Text version of this post under the cut:

Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse comes out tonight. It feels really weird to be typing that out right now. I worked on the movie as a visdev artist for the last 2.5 years, from 2020 to 2023. Long post incoming.

There are a lot of reasons why I'd consider this film to be one of the most ambitious animated films to ever be made. As artists, we were asked to push ourselves far beyond our comfort zones and do things that had never been done before in animation.

Every time we reached a point where most people would say "this must possibly be as creative and weird as it gets," our entire team of artists and animators would smash right through the ceiling. The driving direction for the visuals of the film was to push the limits of every single frame; to challenge audience expectations and make something truly original.

The best thing about this film was that there wasn't a single boring day working on this movie. The hardest thing about this film was also that there wasn't a single boring day working on this movie.

There were times while working on this where the imposter syndrome hit me hard. This was my first big movie, and what a hell of a first movie to get thrust into.

I came in only a few years out of school with absolutely no idea what the hell I was doing. I constantly feared that someone had made a mistake in bringing me onto this film, and I was going to let everyone down. There was a solid chunk of those 2.5 years where I wasn't sure if animation was the right path for me.

If there's anything I could tell my past self it would be this: there are so many people who love you and believe in you. There will be a time when you get to stand on the other side of it, look back on everything and see how far you came.

I'm still working on self-acceptance every day (it will be a lifelong struggle, I'm sure), but I'm glad I didn't give up on myself. I'm proud of myself and my contributions to this film, and I'm certain that this movie will continue to change and shape the animation landscape just as the first one did. That's truly a special feeling to have been a part of. I am so incredibly grateful to every single person who helped me along this journey.

Here come the thanks:

To the ENTIRE visdev & art crew- it's been an honor getting to work alongside each and every one of you. My jaw is literally still on the floor from seeing your incredible talent day after day.

I want to thank Tiffany and Felicia especially for being there for me through tough times- I admire and respect you both so much as artists, and even better than that, my life is greatly enriched for being able to call you my friends.

Thank you Patrick and Dean for taking chances on me, teaching me so much about art and what I'm capable of, and encouraging me along the way. To Aymeric, your art is one of the reasons I initially became interested in animation and you have been one of the kindest & most empathetic mentors I could ever have asked for.

I want to thank my wonderful parents for believing in me always and raising me into the person I am today: everything I do in life is to make you proud. To my brother Andrew who is perpetually awake at 3 AM when I need someone to talk to- thank you for always picking up the phone and making me laugh.

And finally to my partner Luke for making me grilled cheeses on all of the difficult days, for never getting sick of me even when all I would ever talk about was work, and for patiently and steadfastly loving me throughout this entire thing. I don't think I could've done it without you.

Starting tomorrow I will begin posting and sharing some of the art I made for this movie; I'm looking forward to sharing some of my personal favorites with you. I hope each and every one of you enjoys Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse when it hits theaters later today!

[osamucide]

DAZAI HCS! ⊹

LAST UPDATE: OCT 10

cw: talk of mental illness and substance use/abuse, speculation about Dazai’s f’ed up past+trauma, Dazai-typical references to suicide, references to self harm, probably a lot of projection on the author’s part

reid: i feel like yapping about Dazai tonight so here’s a non-exhaustive list of general headcanons i have about him. no word count because i’ll probably update this periodically lol

he does not listen to music from this century. he just doesn’t. not that he goes out of his way not to, he’s just drawn to a certain sound that only older music seems to have—I think The Smiths, Blondie, Tears For Fears, The Smashing Pumpkins, King Crimson, and Led Zeppelin are among his favorite artists

I think he also really enjoys classic jazz/blues/bebop music—Charles Mingus, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, etc.

he’s anemic. I’m of the firm belief that Kunikida buys him a 100 ct bottle of iron tablets every 100 days which Dazai always graciously accepts. however, he only actually takes them when he gives enough of a shit to (which is not often) so the bottles are just accumulating on his bathroom sink/in the cupboard beneath

nail biter, cuticle picker, hair twirler, thigh bouncer, etc. I don’t think he really sits still unless it’s absolutely necessary

children love him, much to his dismay. they think he’s entertaining. he thinks they’re like puppies (and he canonically hates dogs). he won’t treat them badly, but he’s just not super interested in interacting with them. unwilling older brother vibe when faced with them. shithead kids can stoke his rage much faster than Chuuya ever could

he cannot take care of a fucking plant. has one succulent in his apartment. it’s surviving out of pure unadulterated spite. he hasn’t watered it in over a year

wearer of funky socks. his favorites are either the ones that say "I love my job ha ha just kidding" or the custom ones Yosano got him as a gag gift one year for white elephant at the office christmas party (they have Kunikida’s rage face on them)

really sad that, despite his criminal record being scrubbed clean, he is still banned from driving in the nation of Japan for the rest of his life because he wants a Ford Explorer so bad

PROFOUNDLY SOUND KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

he’s fluent in Japanese and English, proficient in French and Italian, and learning Russian

I think he also enjoys learning math/researching random shit/reading anything he can in his free time when he feels up to it. he never received a formal education and his IQ is through the roof—his yearning for academia is almost like an itch he has to scratch every once in a while. also, he just likes knowing things

he never learned how to ride a bike. wahhhh wahh

BPD king. look at him. my beautiful princess with a disorder. I doubt he’s diagnosed but he strongly suspects it seeing as he’s so self-aware; if not borderline, he just assumes he has severe PTSD. either way, he really won’t do anything other than what he already knows about how to manage it

along the same lines—he’s been a functional alcoholic since an alarmingly young age (I’m talking 16-17). I think it probably got a lot worse post-defection when he was underground, but he hardly had to function then anyway; he gets somewhat better after joining the Agency but still has a dependence, it’s just not severe enough to debilitate him

has a bin of art supplies in his apartment. he only ever pulls them out once every few months, but he rather enjoys painting and wouldn’t mind getting better at it

master at darts. don’t take him to a bar where there’s a dartboard. he will stand in front of it all night and obliterate everyone who challenges him

insatiable sweet tooth. he especially loves anything maple, butter pecan, or butterscotch he’s a grandpa

UPDATE.1

I love to headcanon that he has a glass eye!!! and that the bandages around his head in the dark era were some legitimate injury. he likes to pop it out as a party trick/to weird Kunikida out

he feeds the stray cats and kittens that linger around the ADA dorms. he probably spends some of his grocery money on the fancy wet canned food and leaves it out with a big plastic bowl of water. sometimes sits and watches them eat and likes to give them little scratches if they trust him enough to come rub up on his legs. they’re sort of to him as the orphans were to Odasaku, and it makes him feel closer to his deceased friend

on the note of grocery shopping—he only goes when Atsushi or Kunikida drag him along. keeps his list relatively the same from trip to trip: canned crab, cigarettes, bandages, a few cases of beer, sake, instant ramen, ice cream (particularly butter pecan), paper towels, and 3-in-1 shampoo when he needs it. Kunikida forces vegetables upon him (“put it in the ramen so you don’t die of heart disease”) but they almost always end up rotting to mush in his fridge. he steals his toilet paper from the ADA bathrooms/supply closets or bothers Atsushi and Kyoka for spare rolls when he’s out

religiously orders drinks from the cafe on his way in and out of work. on mornings he usually gets a latte with plenty of sugar and some sort of flavor; in the evenings he probably gets an iced flavored tea to mix or chase his sake with when he gets home

always has a pocket knife on him. probably one he got in his mafia days, or, it’s at least a habit/security he picked up from then

takes a lot of night walks. he doesn’t sleep well, so I think he probably wanders out tipsy with his pack of cigarettes in the wee hours of the morning and scuttles around to tire himself out

UPDATE.2

two words: medical trauma. I know some people get iffy when it comes to speculation about what Mori did/didn’t/may/may not have subjected him too as a young teenager (and believe me I have a lot of thoughts) but I definitely headcanon that Dazai was used as a little bit of a lab rat/sedated and coerced to some degree when it came to turning him into a killing machine. as a result, he’s got a fear of medical settings. after his surgery during the cannibalism arc? I know he got that phone back and was like “Tanizaki get me out of here right neow”

I think sweet little old ladies probably love him and he loves them too. always feels like he strikes up the best small talk with them. will help load groceries into their cars for them. he gets all smiley and stuff when they call him “sweetheart” “honey” “dear” or remark how handsome he is and about his hypothetical girlfriend must be so lucky

he can throw knives with pinpoint accuracy from a pretty impressive distance. he’s a little less accurate with his handgun at long range/with moving targets but HE’S GETTING BETTER

has like a 3.5 ft vertical jump at his best. like why are you a detective when the Lakers need a center

[terras-domain]

Memories of Us

Characters: Kim Chaehyun, Yu Jimin (Karina)

Tags: friends with benefits, sensual, lesbian sex, titty play, pussy play, somewhat fluff

Words: 1869 words

Author's Note: Hiiiiii terra here! Tbh I'm really excited for this work especially if it blows out. I think the dynamic between Chaehyun and Karina would work so well together especially since surprise surprise CHAEHYUN WAS FROM FUCKING SM! I think we can lead this to adding another idol which I'm pretty sure we all know who if it's Yu Jimin, right? In any case, I'll do my best to this work and if I think it's good enough, I'll try to do continue it more as a series. Enjoy <33!

"With MY world in the back, WORLD in the back YEAH!" As the song slowly ended, Chaehyun hurries towards Karina, wrapping her arms around her hips as Karina looks at her with a soft smile, patting her head before looking at the camera, waving to end the TikTok challenge for Drama. "Alright, thank you so much for your hard work, girls." The cameraman showed a thumbs up as the crew clapped their hands for their hard work, starting to pack up their tools and get going for the next video production. "Uwaaah~ unnie you did so well~" Chaehyun's eyes sparkles as she looks up to Karina, clearly enthusiastic of meeting her old friend back when she was an SM trainee. "Awww Chaehyun knock it off with the formals~! Jimin is good enough and you know that, right?" Karina giggled, seeing the bubbly Chaehyun in front of her, rolling back their trainee days. The times where Chaehyun had to endure a lot of criticisms for her lack of dancing and her body shape, Karina has always been there to support and comfort her, often giving her encouragement to do better too. Such precious memories for the Kep1er vocalist even though it was short due to SM terminating her contract.

After a little small talk, Karina invited Chaehyun to relax at aespa's waiting room. The girls are out to buy coffee at the barista downstairs, so it'll be just the two of them for the time being. As they both lounged on the couch, Chaehyun leaned down to Karina's shoulders, sighing. "I missed you, Jiminnie." Her tone started to sound like a vent. Karina, who is still clueless about the situation, only patted her head, smiling while still scrolling through her Instagram feed. "Awww, but I'm here now, right? Hahah c'mon Chae~ cheer up a bit." Karina playfully caressed Chaehyun's cheeks, pinching and pulling it while giggling as the ex-SM trainee pouted. "I'm being serious here Jimiiin~" She scowled and threw a little tantrum, which only fueled Karina's laughter more, seeing Chaehyun's adorable face blush red from anger and embarrassment. She has to admit, she did miss teasing Chaehyun, although she does have Winter as her victim now.

Despite Chaehyun's adorable growls of frustration, Karina still didn't take her seriously. Her hands are still fixated on Chaehyun round puffy face, squishing her cheeks and pinching them occasionally. It was at that point Chaehyun lost it, grabbing her unnie's hands and pushing them away and now hugging her tight, almost like she's trying to squeeze her body. "Unniieeeee! I'm being serious here!" Her red flushed face faced to the cushions of the couch. Blushing from her out of character behaviour, she can't even move a muscle, still flustered from her actions towards her unnie that she looks up to so much. Karina could only bite her lips, trying not to burst out and laugh. After taking a long, deep breath, Karina sighed, and slowly tapped her old colleague's scalp, scratching it a bit as if she's doing one of her ASMR lives, trying to comfort the shy Chaehyun. "Alright Chae Chae, what is it? I'll take you seriously this time~" She smiled as soon as Chaehyun's face lifts up, pouting as her large round eyes shined back too Karina's. "I missed you, Jiminnie."

Karina only sighed as she smiled, looking art her old friend being as clingy and adorable as she remembers, the same Kim Chaehyun she spends her time with for years together in the SM building. She can see the attachment Chaehyun had with her, and it melted her heart. "I missed you too, Chaehyun." Karina ruffled Chaehyun's hair, before her hand guided the main vocalist up, making their faces level. Karina slowly lifted up Chaehyun's bangs, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm here for you Chae~" a soft whisper echoed into Chaehyun's ear, giving her goosebumps, both from the cringeyness of Karina's words but also the nostalgia. The feeling when she always had Karina by her side, caring and supporting her every step of the way. After the kiss Karina gave on her forehead, Chaehyun looked as if she spaced out, lost in thought. "Chae...?" Karina snapped her fingers, trying to gain her consciousness again. She eventually did, but not a word was let out of her mouth. Instead a kiss on the cheeks, her mouth charging to Karina's.

"Mh~!" Karina was flustered, but also not really surprised by the sudden reaction by Chaehyun. She's always been a clingy little baby to her and she guesses that little clinginess never faded away from Chaehyun's nature. Instead of pushing her away, Karina embraced her, tucking Chaehyun's long wavy hair behind her ears as Karina softly caressed the back of her scalp. The kiss lasted for about 30 seconds before Karina broke the two pairs of lips' moment of connection, leaving the two in a state of silence. Chaehyun was blushing, red as a tomato and Karina was just trying to process the whole situation, not knowing what to do. "J-Jiminnie~ I want m-more, please~!" With her face facing the couch, Chaehyun's plead for satisfaction was said aloud, finally admitting to her desires.

Karina could never say no to those cute puppy eyes of Chaehyun. All she could do is please Chaehyun's undying desire for her. Her former colleague in SM, both now in seperate ways, but their lips never this close in their lives. Karina pinning the Kep1er member to the wall and kissing her pretty mouth, occasionally sucking on Chaehyun's tongue which made her whimper, melting in Karina's arms. "Fuuuuck~ Jiminnie~" Chaehyun was just a mess at that point, having her mouth dominated by her old friend back in SM, her whimpers and words weren't even fully audible due to her lips being locked my Karina's. The aespa leader takes charge, tiptoeing her fingers slowly towards Chaehyun's crotch, touching the wet spot on her safety shorts. "You've been enjoying a lot haven't you, Chae?" Chaehyun couldn't do a thing but pout and nod to Karina's question.

The excited Yu Jimin giggled, seeing how adorable Chaehyun is behaving, making the sexual tension in the room sky rocket. Karina guided Chaehyun to lean back to her seat, letting her more access to take the lead. Karina gently removes Chaehyun's top, not completely off, just enough to see her bare tits out. They both know that the staff could crash in the room any moment and it's gonna be one hell of an explanation to get them off this situation. "You're so hard here too Chaehyunnie~" Karina looked at her friend's volumed breasts, her nipples getting hard and stiff from the stimulation and the cool-airconditioned room. Chaehyun let out a soft moan before she managed to answer as Karina's mouth takes in her left nipple, sucking on it gently. "Jiminnie~ wait...nghhh-" Chaehyun bit her lips, containing her moans from escaping, she doesn't want the staff to catch them like this. Or even worse, the rest of the aespa members seeing them like this.

Karina continues her pursuit, now her hands roaming towards Chaehyun's inner thighs, hiking up her skirt. "Let me please you down there too, Chaehyun" she whispered, sending shivers down Chaehyun's spine. Chaehyun could feel Karina's hand moving closer to cunt, slowly touching her pussy covered in the white cloth of her panties, dribbles of precum painting on her underwear painting the situation, Chaehyun an absolute mess for Karina. She took charge of the situation by starting to rub her fingers gently on Chaehyun's panties, all whilst her mouth kept on sucking on her old friend's round boob, sucking with Karina's eyes sparkling at Chaehyun's. "Jiminnie, it feels so fucking good~" Chaehyun's moans finally made some human words out. It was words of encouragement for Karina to do more, and more did she do. Karina's hand slide Chaehyun's panties to the side, revealing her pink temple, where Karina starts to slide her index and middle finger inside Chaehyun's pussy. The stimulation made her scream out a moan, Chaehyun starting to lose her cool and turns into a moaning mess, enjoying her old friend's gentle fingers, digging in her cunt which made her twitch and shiver. "Jiminnie~, I'm gonna cum~" Chaehyun cries, putting a smirk on Karina's face. "Cum for me then, Chae. I want you to lots of pleasure~" "oh god, Jiminnie, I'm cummiiiiing!" Karina's words was more than enough to make her cum, releasing out her pleasures and coats Karina's two fingers.

The after effects of Karina's assault on her pussy, Chaehyun is left panting, reaching for air. "Jiminnie, I wanna make you cum too" her eyes looked straight at Karina's eyes, then tracing down her body. Karina, needing to let it out, is as eager as her old trainee partner is. "I need it to Chae. Make me feel good." She asked, her breathy voice sounded full of lust as she undoes her pants, showing her bare cunt. The room is ever so chilly yet the tension between is too hot to handle. Chaehyun didn't need an instruction to understand the situation; instantly falling to her knees, between Yu Jimin's legs. Chaehyun takes her tongue out, her mouth now on Karina's pussy, starting to lick it while looking up at the aespa leader's eyes.

Karina tilted her head back, feeling the cold tender lips of Chaehyun starting to give the attention she needed, making her moan as her hands hold on her boobs, groping herself as she enjoys the pleasure. "F-fuuuuck, yes Chae~. Just like that, I love your mouth so bad." Once again, Chaehyun is motivated by Karina's words, Chaehyun gets her mouth to work even more, letting her tongue get inside her pussy. Her mouth did a great job in turning on Karina, as she moans louder, getting herself more stimulated, moaning loudly as her hand is on Chaehyun's long hair. "Fuuuck Chaehyun. I can't do this any longer. I-I wanna cum" Chaehyun didn't reply, only a nod from her whilst remaining between Karina's legs as the room is now only filled with Karina's moans. Karina gripped Chaehyun's hair, flexing her thighs as her body shivers, unable to take it any longer. "Chae, I'm cumming I'm cumming I'm cummiiiiing!" Karina grunted, screaming out her moans as she squirts on Chaehyun's adorable round face. Chaehyun whimpered, tasting her lovable Yu Jimin's sweet cum, looking up to her face, covered in cum.

"That was amazing Chae~" Karina smiled, exhaustion is displayed on her face, the same can be same can be said to Chaehyun. Chaehyun got up and to Karina's face she aims, kissing her passionately, sharing the taste of the aespa ace's cum. They enjoy a deep kiss for a moment before their lips depart, smiling at each other. "Let's clean up this mess before anybody sees us like this shall we?" Karina tilted her head, painting a smile on her face to Chaehyun as the Kep1er vocalist replies with a bright smile. "Of course Jiminnie, this is our little secret, right?" She asked, as they both stood up and looked at each other's messy faces. Karina's reply, a giggle and her index finger on her lips, sealing the deal of their sweet little secret.

[streamafterlaughter]

Soundtrack to Disaster

Chapter II: A Place Uncharted and Overgrown

playlist | masterlist | pinboard | prev

song(s) for this chapter: Careful by Paramore, 365 by Charli XCX, Hardline by Julien Baker (for half a second)

chapter tags: cocky!kinda mean!fboy!eddie, swearing, drinking, drug (weed) use, implied sexual content | fic tags: Angst, hurt/(eventual) comfort, (eventual) smut, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, Eddie Munson x Fem!OC!Reader, Modern AU | This fic is rated 18+ MDNI

taglist @children-of-the-grave @five-bi-five @kellsck @faggotinie @xplrnowornever @taccobelle send a message/comment to be added!

a/n: whatever is happening right now, don’t worry. it will get worse!

DISCLAIMER: I do not consent to having my work fed to AI engines, or reposted in any way, shape, or form on other websites. Unless otherwise stated, this is the only account that features and contains this work, and any replication was done without my consent. Please let me know if you see my work elsewhere. Reblog to support the author!

—

Your voice is hoarse by the time you pull into your driveway, surely waking the neighbors as your music leaks through your cracked windows, an angry repetition of YOU CAN’T BE TOO CAREFUL ANYMORE… You do, however, remember to crank it down before leaving your car, something future you will be thankful for.

You flick the light of your bare bones apartment on, glaring at the half your things still sitting in boxes. You keep telling yourself you’ll get to those.

Much to your discouragement, you’ve mostly accepted that Hawkins has swallowed you back into its cold and unforgiving bosom, at least for a while.

You’d left for college, obviously. Escaped to New York with a dream of becoming a published poet, a voice of the new generation. And though school was insightful, challenging, and everything you wanted; it was lonely. Art students are pretentious and judgmental, especially if you come from somewhere like Indiana. So you’d kept your head down and finished school alone, only to move back home with a useless degree, in thousands of dollars of debt, and with a brother in prison.

At least now my brother’s home, you think, trying to assuage the shame spiral. Home and as oblivious as ever, inviting Eddie to the bar.

-

You rise late, sunshine leaking into your second floor bedroom, provoking a groan from deep within your tired gut. Eddie’s here, in Hawkins. It’s been years since you’ve seen him, even longer since you’ve spoken. It leaves you with a lot of nagging questions you’re not sure you want the answers to.

You roll over, wrestling with your sheets tangled around your bare legs. You barely remember coming home, having blacked out the night with a red, angry rage that seems to have subsided with the night. You’re calmer now, almost zen.

Almost, until you remember what you’ve promised tonight. Parties aren’t usually of any concern; a few old friends and maybe a couple college kids with nothing better to do, but you dread it all the same. Eddie used to frequent Steve’s house parties to deal, even after you’d stopped speaking to him. Something about being “easy money,” he’d drunkenly explained to you once. You hope it doesn’t mean he’ll pick up the habit again, but you know deep down how naive that is.

-

“What’s the party even for?” You lean over the kitchen island to steal a chip from the bag, and Steve smacks your hand out of the way.

“Who says there has to be a reason for a party?”

“Anyone who wants to keep their house clean, for one.” Robin sneaks in from behind, snatching a handful of potato chips before Steve can catch her. “And I, for one, never agreed to hosting this party.”

“Co-hosting,” Steve reminds her, “and if you must know, it’s a party for Chris.”

“Didn’t we just have one of those?” You groan, and Robin hands you a chip, as if to apologize.

“Yeah, but that was nothin’. No offense, obviously I love your mom and the bar, but, cmon, you know he wants a rager.”

You really can’t argue with that, so you divert. “And you feel responsible to throw him?”

Steve presses his lips together, unable to combat the question. “We’re friends. Plus, it gives Robin an excuse to see Nance.” The last part is barely audible, but both you and Robin catch it, locking eyes, and she blushes. Nancy Wheeler, the Hawkins Girl Next door. Robin’s been pining over her since senior year of high school, with nothing to show for it.

Robin is harder to say no to than Steve. “Ugh, fine. I have one condition if you want me at this party.

Steve crosses his arms. “Bee, I can’t just not invite him.”

You shrug. “Okay, fine. Have a good time, let me know how it goes.” You grab your coat from the rack for emphasis.

“You’re bluffing.”

“You willing to bet on that?”

“What is your thing with him anyway?” Robin asks between munching on her chips, searching your face for a giveaway. “Like, I know he was there when Chris got cuffed, but is it really his fault your brother got caught?”

You’d never told your friends that Eddie had confessed, testified against your brother. Truthfully, you’d figured they’d find out on their own. You didn’t want to sway their opinions, you’d all been in the same friend group. Even now, you can’t bring yourself to explain the whole thing. “It’s a really, really long story that will kill the mood to tell.”

Steve huffs, hands on his hips. “You know I can’t use that to justify not inviting him.”

“Ugh, fine. But I’m gonna be pissy all night.”

He cracks a smile. “Whatever keeps you entertained, dork.”

-

Steve leaves you in charge of the music, giggling to yourself as you scroll through his playlist titles: Sad Boy Autumn, Night of Clubbin’, Hot Steve Summer. You land on his Party Rock Anthems, and scroll through what Steve believes to be, according to the playlist description, “The Ultimate House Party Jams.” What a fuckin’ dweeb. The first song to play when you shuffle is 365 by Charli XCX and you can't help but burst into laughter. He’s not wrong, of course, but you can’t even slightly believe that Steve has listened to this song, let alone added it to a playlist.

“Great choice!” A voice, light as a bell, rings from behind you, and you turn to greet its owner only to be met face to face with Chrissy Cunningham. The second to last person you’d expect to know this song.

“Oh, yeah,” You stutter, unsure of how to respond. You wouldn’t call yourself a 365 party girl, especially not right now.

“You here with anyone?” Her ponytail swings as she cocks her head to the side, inspecting you.

“Uh, nah, not really. Chris is my brother, this party’s for him.”

“Oh, yeah! You’re Bee, right?”

“To some,” You laugh nervously, hating to be preceded by your brother’s reputation. “And you’re Chrissy, right? I didn’t know you knew him.”

“Oh, I don’t really. I’m here on a date.”

“Who’s your-“

“Hey, baby.” No. God, no fucking way. Eddie seemingly appears from nowhere, sliding his arm around Chrissy’s waist, hand playfully low on her hip. Suddenly, you’re seething, teeth clenched together and you’re convinced you can feel the beginning of a migraine. “What’s got you talkin’ to the wet blanket? Drink not strong enough?” He eyes you, amused by the way your eye twitches.

“Eddie! Be nice, this is Chris’s sister!”

Eddie scoffs at her, head thrown back. “I know, Princess. Tweety and I go way back.”

“I thought you said your name was Bee?”

You shrug. “It’s one of ‘em. Tweety, however, is not.” Not anymore, but you don’t add that part out loud.

“Whatever. C’mon, let me introduce you to the other, way less sexy Chris.” And without another glance your way, Eddie takes his girl into the backyard.

“Fuckin’ asshole.” You mutter, adding another, much less fun song to the queue.

“Okay, enough moping!” Robin snatches your phone from you just as Julien Baker’s voice starts in, quickly switching it back to Steve’s clubbing playlist. “C’mon, let’s go dance!”

“Only if I can get another drink first.” Your rum and coke is gone, and you’re feeling far too sober to be in the same room as Eddie, let alone his date. The thought sends chills of what you can only assume are disgust up your spine. Poor Chrissy, Eddie must have charmed her into going out with him, how else do you explain that couple? What lies did he tell her to convince her he’s a decent enough guy?

“Hey, stop seething, I can see the foam about to come out of your mouth.” Robin snaps you out of seeing red, handing you a hard cider that you pout at. “I wanted a dirty shirley.”

“And I want you alive in the morning to help me clean this place up. As the host, I win by default.”

You huff dramatically, but take the can anyway. “Can you believe Eddie convinced Chrissy to come here with him?”

Robin only shrugs. “He’s not a bad guy, Beebs. I think deep down, you know that.”

You bite your tongue. It is not your place. Your personal grievances are not your friends’ problems. “Maybe, but they’re so different.”

Robin shrugs. “It was either Chrissy or—“ She cuts herself off abruptly, and when you try to meet her eyes she averts them.

“Or who, Rob?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing, never mind. Hey, look! Your brother’s here!”

You cock an eyebrow at her, but she’s not budging, pointing towards the entryway where your brother is being greeted in all directions. Someone hands him a beer, while another friend sparks a joint before passing it to him. It amazes you how loved your brother is after the hell he raises, and people barely register you exist, let alone that you’re his sister.

“Hey, kiddos!” Chris breaks away from his mob of fans to greet you and Robin, embracing you both in a group hug. Luckily, your brother doesn’t give a shit about how cool the rest of Hawkins thinks you are. He offers a hand out to Steve behind you. “Thank you for putting all this together, man. Means a lot.” Robin opens her mouth to argue, but closes it when Chris looks at her. “And thank you for letting him destroy your place for the night. I’ll help you with the damage in the morning.” He winks at Robin, who gives him the biggest toothy smile possible.

“Chris, man, you comin’ out? We’re playin’ beer pong.” One of Chris’s buddies, Gareth, offers him the tiny plastic ball.

“Oh, fuck yeah, man. But only if you’re on my team, I'm not losing to you and Eds at my own party.”

-

It’s three rounds before Chris and Steve convince you to play, Gareth having tapped out for the night to puke in the bushes. Eddie snickers to his cronies as you approach the table, sliding your windbreaker from your arms. For some reason, the exposure of your skin shuts him up, and you flex your fingers dramatically before plucking the ball from Steve’s hand. “You’re goin’ down, Sweetheart.” Eddie jabs his ringed pointer finger at you, and your cheeks flush with embarrassment.

He seems to notice his slip up, clearing his throat dramatically. “You gonna play, or what?”

You blink once, twice before nodding, suddenly feeling the effects of your earlier drinks. Have you eaten tonight?

You aim as well as your body allows, managing to sink the ball into the back corner cup. Your friends cheer, high diving each other before each extending a hand to you, and Eddie groans, removing the plastic before downing the cup and removing it from the lineup. “Beginner’s luck.”

“Oh, please!” Robin scolds from beside you. “Ballsy for someone to say after losing two out of the last three.” The small crowd of gathered acquaintances chuckle, earning a weak glare from a very intoxicated Eddie before he sets up his shot, effortlessly dropping the ball into the center cup. You begrudgingly remove it, chugging the lukewarm beer while your friends cheer and boo, all in good fun.

It mostly continues like that, a neck and neck game between your team consisting of you, Chris, and Steve against Eddie, Jeff, and a very giggly Chrissy. By the end, the backyard is on a tilted axis, and only one cup remains in front of either team.

“You ready to tap yet?” Eddie taunts, though he’s been leaning over the table for the last couple rounds, arms bracing him from falling to the ground.

“You wish, Munson.” And you let it fly, but your face falls when you realize you’d been too cocky, too soon. It bounces higher than you’d anticipated, sailing right over the cup and onto the ground, everyone’s eyes glued to it. “Fuck.” Robin snickers and you snap your head to glare at her. “Thank you for that vote of confidence.” You sneer, and she stifles another giggle fit.

“This is it, honey, for all the marbles.” You think he’s talking to Chrissy until he winks directly at you, the corner of his mouth pinching into a smirk. You look from him to his date to find her pouting, eyebrows scrunched together and arms crossed. You raise an eyebrow, unsure how to reassure the former cheerleader.

While you’re not looking, Eddie sinks the ball. Which, let’s be honest, you knew that was coming. You roll your eyes and lift the piss flavored drink to your lips, chugging with an open throat to avoid tasting it. Your friends and brother cheer you on, and when you slam the solo cup onto the table, you let out a massive belch. Eddie’s grin has split into a toothy beam, eyes wide with wonder, penetrating your very soul. Fuckin’ weirdo.

-

When your dizziness has subsided, you find Robin on the makeshift dance floor, a drink dangerously spilling over in her hand. “Hey, grouchy!” She calls you over, beckoning with her dance moves. You play along, pretending to be roped in by her lasso. “What’s got you all frowny now?”

You shrug, shaking your hips to a song you can’t place, trying to enjoy your buzz now that you’re not seeing double. “Guess I’m taking beer pong too seriously.”

Robin snorts. “Please, when have you ever given a shit about stupid drinking games?”

“I guess since Chris is home. Wanted to impress him.” Robin eyes you, biting her lip. “What?” You pry, and when she doesn’t answer, poke her in the ribs. “Cmon, spit it out.”

“I don’t think it was Chris you were trying to impress.” She winces, awaiting an outburst that doesn’t come. Instead, you reply with a monotone “Excuse me?”

She smiles tensely, all teeth and gums. “Sorry, I call em like I see em.” Robin’s eyes slide past you, landing over your shoulder. When you snap your head to find what she’s looking at, your eyes fall on Eddie, a beer forgotten in his hand as he whispers in Chrissy’s ear. He must be hilarious, because she can’t stop fucking laughing.

“Oh, you can’t be serious. You think I'm worried about what Munson has to say about me?”

She refocuses on your face, brows furrowed. “Maybe not what he has to say, but definitely what he thinks.” You gape at her, unable to respond with something clever. She only pats your shoulder. “It’s alright, you’ll figure it out soon enough.”

-

“Okay, everyone out. You don’t have to go home, but ya can’t stay here.” Steve is waving people out the door, thanking them for destroying his and Robin’s apartment with a tired smile on his face. Finally, shuts the door. “That everyone?”

“Uh, no. We have some stragglers.”

Steve looks around the main room, then the kitchen. “Where?”

Robin juts her thumb to Steve’s bedroom. “Sorry, man.” You stifle a giggle with a cough, throwing another beer can into the recycling bin.

“Every damn time!” Steve stomps up to the door and starts banging. “Hey, party’s over. Put your pants back on!” He throws his bedroom door open, and you and Robin peer over his shoulders like nosy children.

“Whoa!” The larger figure scrambles, throwing the duvet over their head, while the smaller one shrieks, covering her face as Steve flicks the light on.

“Oh, come on. Eddie?”

“Hi, Stevie.” He slowly emerges from the blanket. “Funny running into you here.”

“It’s my room, idiot! Get out!”

“Okay, okay! Shit, I thought you wanted my help cleaning this shithole tomorrow!”

Steve huffs. “Doesn’t mean you can occupy my room and soil my sheets like this.”

Eddie gasps in mock offense. “I’ll have you know I’m very clean, just had all my shots.” Steve only glares, but he gets the message across. “Okay! Damn. Sorry, Chrissy. I’ll call you, yeah?”

The girl rolls her eyes, face still cherry red. “Whatever, Eddie.” She snatches her shirt off the ground, and Steve turns to give her privacy. “Sorry, Steve. He said it was okay.” She avoids your eyes as she leaves, Eddie waving goofily behind her. Something in your chest hurts, and you chock it up to rage.

“You want sloppy seconds, Bee?”

You ignore him, and make your way back to the kitchen to rage clean. Over your shoulder, you hear your brother exclaims something, but you can’t make it out.

-

[stickynotebirds]

Do you only use color pencils?

I'm so glad you asked me this anon because now I can ramble about my art supplies! (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)

So when I started this challenge I thought it would be fun to only work with cheap office supplies (yes, I consider dollar store colored pencils an office supply). You see, limiting your art supplies is fun because it forces you to be creative and experiment with different looks. And the texture of colored pencils works really well to imitate the texture of feathers.

However! Using only cheap colored pencils gets kind of boring if you have to do a challenge for an entire year. So after around 50 birds I started slowly adding to my arsenal:

Higher quality colored pencils

Some birds have bright vibrant colors which are impossible to achieve with bad colored pencils. Which is why I added some slightly better quality pencils to the mix.

I still don't have a good green pencil which is why it took me so long to draw a kakapo and why I still haven't drawn a kea...

Highlighters in different colors

You might not think that highlights are a very useful art supply but they have been very useful in this challenge for two reasons: 1) They are great for creating the shiny iridescent quality of some feathers (see my drawings of hummingbirds for examples) 2) how the f do you show the difference between yellow and white when working on yellow paper?? Yellow highlighter!

Black fineliners

The texture of pencils does not work well if you want to draw something that's fully black. This is especially important to me because my favorite birds, coots, are black.

Fineliners are the markers I have found that gives me the least texture for the ideal slick black bird look.

White Posca pen

For making white details. I use it most often for making eyes and feathers look shiny but sometimes also for larger details.

So there you have it! The semi-complete list of art supplies I use! (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

Since I only have around 50 birds left to draw I probably won't be adding anything new before the challenge is over (unless I find a good green pencil lol)

[piyo13sdoodles]

day 28, chapter 76:

At the expression on Quintus' face Cliopher could take no more. He started laughing before he made it out of the room, though the loudest whoops came after he'd reached the hallway. He did not get far along, just sank down at the top of the stairs so he could try to muffle his mirth with his hands. ~ "Your family seems somewhat perturbed," Rhodin observed after a few minutes.

and bonus gallery shot + musings under the cut because it's been exactly 4 weeks now:

fun to see what kinds of patterns intentionally or unintentionally crop up... or also which days i can tell i was busy vs which days i had time or worked in advance to dedicate more time to the piece. if anyone's curious, on average one of these might take me 2-3 hours to complete! more detailed ones like october 23 i think probably took me closer to 5 hours, simpler ones like october 9 maybe 1.5h.

i am both sad and glad it's almost over--i've definitely lost a fair amount of sleep trying to get these done in time (usually i work a day ahead so i can post at a reasonable time, but that hasn't always worked out, especially in the final stretch here), so this pace does become untenable on top of work, but it also is really fun to make so much art! and to always have something to work on rather than becoming trapped into that idea of 'what should i do, too many choices, can't decide..' the answer is always inktober!

in any case, seeing the gallery like this is also interesting to me because it really helps me realize where i could have/should have pushed the ink a bit more--working in ink is (to me; this is definitely not gospel, just how i consider ink work) an exercise in controlling contrast. you don't have colour to drive edges or cool/warm tones, so the only value you have is the light-dark contrast, and in my mind at least, good use of contrast should carry across to a smaller format. for example, zoomed out like this i can see that october 11th really needed more contrast in the feathers--they blend too much into the background in a way that doesn't really work to emphasize that ludvic is standing in front of the candles there. otoh, on october 5, i think that one's fine because what i wanted was for the moon to draw the eye first, and THEN for you to notice HR sitting there.

overall, also, i want to keep these interesting--if the compositions are always the same, then it can become repetitive or boring, so i wanted a good mix of light and dark compositions, and a good balance of tone across all of them. which so far i'm pleased with! and this year i let myself use pencil undersketches and do thumbnail planning and everything (last year i really wanted to get better at visualizing the piece in my head so i set the challenge of just committing straight to paper... i'm still happy with last year's but you can tell i took on much more challenging compositions this year lol)

anyway!! much to think about, so much to learn, i wanted to work a bit in advance again so i won't be putting tomorrow's up almost at midnight again but alas i think it was not meant to be, so i'm off to bed and if you read this whole thing, congrats, have a cookie *hands you a cookie*

[0-amateur-writer-0]

Lines

Characters: Stan Pines, Ford pines.

Tags: Angst, Hurt no comfort, Character study.

Wordcount: 1,810

Summary:

“You really don’t understand why I want this place to be shut down, do you?”

Stan sniffs. “I think I got some ideas.”

Ford narrows his eyes. “Do you?”

#

He’s home. He’s actually home. Back in his Earth—in Gravity Falls, Oregon.

Hard to believe that a few days ago, he was at the precipice of life and death. About to end things once, and for all with Bill. That’s how it was supposed to be. One way or another, everything was supposed end that day. But now he’s honest to God walking through his house. Opening cupboards, and drawers. Studying every nook, and cranny. Observing how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same.

The house definitely had seen better days. Everything was aged, and weathered. You could even spot some awkward patch jobs here, and there. The ones you do on your own to save money, instead of by someone who actually knew what they were doing.

Indeed, Stan must’ve been a stingy on the upkeep. He could hear a lot of new creaks, and sounds now. But…the house is somewhat neat, and tidy at least.

He supposes he should be thankful if for that. That his home is still here after all this time. Still standing. Still livable. When he already made peace long ago, that his house would be left to rot—reduced to a pile of would-be firewood.

Ford rounded a corner, and stops in his tracks. Any feelings of gratitude he had had quickly went down the drain.

Now this is a change he could really do without.

The house doubles as a hokey tourist trap now. One that’s entire gimmick was based on showcasing a variety of very made-up anomalies.

Being in this room is already starting to royally piss him off. Though for some reason that escapes him, he decided to stay and look around. Making his way the first exhibit that caught his eye.

Ford glares at the taxidermized monstrosity before him. It was obviously meant to resemble sasquatch, or even bigfoot. Brown fur, big feet, and ape-like features, though a striking difference could be seen on how it’s…wearing an underwear.

(Why even? What evolutionary need could it possibly fulfill by wearing one?)

“Sascrotch,” He sneers. “I can’t believe people actually—"

“Yeah, ya don’t like the Shack. We get it. Keep steppin’, and move on already.” A gruff voice piped up from his left.

Ford turns his head to the source of said voice, to find Stan leaning against the counter—counting the money he made off from the last group of tourists.

(Has he always been there?)

“You really don’t understand why I want this place to be shut down, do you?”

Stan sniffs. “I think I got some ideas.”

Ford narrows his eyes. “Do you?” He challenges.

Stan muttered something under his breath, but otherwise did nothing but continue to count the money in his hands. The sound of paper bills being shuffled seemed to fill the empty gift shop. It grated on his nerves. Then again, everything that Stan does seem to grate on his nerves these days.

Ford made his way to the next set of exhibits. The Six Pack O’ Lope. The Cornicorn. He swears some of them looked more like one of Mabel’s arts and crafts projects.

“I have spent most of my life studying the weird. Trying to make sense of the nonsense. Trying to prove their existence to the scientific community.”

“I had to take on twelve PhDs to get people to take me seriously. Twelve. And that wasn’t even accounting the number of favors, and good standing I had to build up just so I could get my grant approved by the committee.”

Of course, I could’ve avoided all that if I had gone to West Coast Tech instead. He almost wanted to say, but quickly bit his tongue.

“Well, that’s kinda’ dumb.” Stan comments.

(If his ears weren’t mistaken, Ford could’ve sworn there was a note of genuine sympathy in Stan’s voice.)

Ford just shook his head. “The committee didn’t see my want to research anomalies as top priority. Especially when compared to things like researching the cure for cancer, or alternative energy, or artificial intelligence and whatnot.”

“But one way, or another. I managed to show them my worth. I gave them reason, after reason as to how my research could be beneficial. And eventually, they decided to give me a chance.”

Ford wrinkled his nose when he passes by some shelves filled with tacky souvenirs. One lined with snow globes, another with Mr. Mystery bobbleheads, and another filled with…ugh, those horrific Burpin’ Stanford Pines figurines. Though he stops when he comes across a nearly empty shelf lined with empty glass jars. A sign nearby tells him that these are ‘invisible fairy companions! Only $35!’.

His attention wasn’t on the obvious scam in front of him. Instead, Ford watches his face being reflected on the glass jars.

“I thought,” he says. “If I did all of that, then…maybe I could finally change the way people view them.”

“I wasn’t hoping to change everyone’s minds, but if I could get a few people to stop looking at them like something to be afraid of. Like something to be pointed, and gawked at…” He pauses, and then turns to look at Stan. “Do you see where I’m going with this?”

Stan just stares at him with a blank expression on his face.

(Dear Tesla, does he really have to spell this out?)

Ford took a deep calming breath, before saying: “What you’re doing here with the Mystery Shack. Not only is it a mockery of my life’s work, it’s a mockery of me.”

Stan narrows his eyes. “What are you talkin’ about?”

Ford could feel the threads of his self-control being cut. “Do you really not realize what you’re doing here!? You’re bringing all sorts of people in here, and teaching them it’s okay to point, and laugh at things they don’t understand. You’re teaching them to point, and laugh at things like me!”

Ford clicked his tongue. Whether Stan’s earlier confusion was genuine, or an act mattered little to him at the moment. The damage was done. To his house. To his reputation. To his life’s work.

--You’re a six-fingered freak!

And they would be right. That’s all he is. All he will ever be.

He’d lost the chance to ever prove them wrong.

“Be honest,” Ford demanded. “All those times you told me that I wasn’t a freak was a lie, wasn’t it?” He gestures towards the various exhibits in the Shack. “This is how you actually feel about me.”

“Do you also have stuffed six-fingered hand lying around? I’m surprised I haven’t seen it yet. An exhibit like that will surely—"

“You think I’d do that?” Stan asks.

Ford pauses, and then turns to Stan. And once his eyes landed on his brother, the red mist that clouded his vision seemed to dissipate at that moment.

Stan was staring at him, and though his expression was blank—there was a gamut of emotions swirling in the depths of his brother’s eyes. Raw and honest emotions that Ford didn’t want to look too closely into.

“You really think I’d do that to you?” Stan asks again. His voice quiet.

Ford opens his mouth, but he quickly finds that no words could come out. Something in Stan’s eyes. Something in the way his brother spoke, seemed to sap all the remaining fight and anger in him.

“I used to beat up every single punk who bad-mouthed you when we were kids. And ya really think that I’m gonna’ turn around, and start doin’ all that crap they did to you?” A pause. “You really think that I’m no better than guys like Crampelter?”

Ford’s looks down—suddenly finding it hard to look Stan in the eyes. “That isn’t what I…”

He tries to find something to defend himself with, but nothing kept coming up. After all, that was essentially what he had just implied wasn’t it?

The silence hung between them until Stan took several steps forward, only stopping when he’s at an arms-length in front of Ford.

“…Y’know,” Stan says. “I got a lotta reasons for starting the Mystery Shack. And that thing you just said… You think that folks come through here to point and laugh at all these arts and crafts rejects. But the only thing being pointed and laughed at in here…is me.”

“Cause you wanna’ know something?” He jabbed a finger onto Ford’s chest. “Just because you got no problems callin’ me worthless, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna’ stoop to your level and start callin’ you a…”

It took everything in him to not look away—to return Stan’s glare head on. On the outside, one might mistake him for being the picture of indifference. The only thing anyone could see was a mask of cold, hard disapproval plastered on his face

But on the inside, in the deepest parts of him where no one was privy to—part of him dreaded of what’s to come. The part of him that used to go on adventures with Stan on the beach. The part of him that used to spend whatever free time available, to work on an old derelict sailboat. The part of him that used stay up to the late hours of the night talking, and planning about the places they’d sail away to one day.

That part of him was terrified of his twin brother calling him that word.

But he knew it was coming. It’s only a matter of time. He braces himself and…

…nothing happened.

Stan just looks down, his hand falling limply back to his side. And Ford found himself letting out a breath he didn’t even knew he was holding.

Both men stood at the middle of the empty gift shop. Stan kept looking down at the floor, and Ford couldn’t seem to peel his eyes away from his brother—at how tired, and defeated he looked. His right-hand twitches, and then starts to lift and inch itself closer towards Stan.

He didn’t really know what he was trying to do. He just…has a sudden urge to reach out. But before he could make any contact, Stan took a step back from him.

“Believe it or not, I actually got lines I ain’t never gonna’ cross.” Was all Stan said to him, before he made his way outside.

The front door slammed shut.

Ford watches the door for a moment. Before his gaze, inexplicably, wanders back to the shelf lined with those Burpin’ Stanford Pines toys. It was an insult. It was his name being printed on those boxes, but looking at those figurines again—at how it was wearing a bright red fez, and a black tuxedo…the similarities that he somehow hadn’t seen before became so clear.

It was Stan.

Ford pinches the bridge of his nose. “What the hell am I doing?”

[natlacentral]

Digital Cover: Dallas Liu

As a young actor in the entertainment industry, what inspired you to pursue acting, and how has your journey evolved since your debut?

My inspiration to pursue acting came from my time doing martial arts when I was a kid. Many of the martial artists I knew would pursue a career in stunts after their time in the competition world. A very small number of them would decide to pursue acting though. With my family’s support, I dove into acting without any hesitation because I felt I had nothing to lose as a kid. The biggest question I had for myself was, “Why not?” My journey has always been an uphill battle. After all, the entertainment industry will always be one of extreme difficulty. I will say that since my debut, the most important lesson I’ve learned is to not get upset and be too hard on myself over whatever I cannot control. As long as I’ve prepared myself in the best way possible and given my full effort in it all, I am able to somewhat relax a little bit. My journey has felt smoother since I’ve adopted that mindset.

You've taken on a variety of roles throughout your career. Is there a particular character or project that challenged you the most, and how did it impact your growth as an actor?

I would have to say Prince Zuko has definitely challenged me the most, because it was certainly the furthest I’ve been pushed to in terms of my emotional range on camera. The amount of time spent working on this project was also the longest in my career. I came out of the project an entirely different person. This role has made me a significantly better actor in so many different ways.

Could you provide some insights into the storyline of Netflix series Avatar: The Last Airbender without revealing any spoilers, and what makes this series unique?

As far as plot goes, we are certainly remaining faithful to the original storyline of the animated series, however, we do have some differences in our show that will hopefully give us a separate identity, especially for the people watching who are fans of the animated series. I think what makes this story unique is our storytelling. I feel that viewers will really fall in love with the characters, the plots, and the entire world of Avatar: The Last Airbender because of our wonderful writers.

Could you share any behind-the-scenes anecdotes or memorable experiences from Netflix series Avatar: The Last Airbender or previous project that fans might find intriguing?

On set, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (who plays Uncle Iroh) looked after me the way Uncle Iroh looked after Zuko. He was always there for me no matter what.

In Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender; what are the differences and/or similarities between you and your character Zuko? Please elaborate.

When it comes to something that Zuko and I are chasing in life, I think we are quite similar. We share the same amount of fiery passion, and in a way, we become quite obsessive of whatever it may be that we are trying to achieve. Zuko will do whatever it takes to get what he wants just like how I dedicate all my time and energy to a project that I’m working on. The most obvious difference between the two of us is that I am clearly the better firebender.

How do you approach character preparation and development, especially when taking on roles that may be vastly different from your own personality?

I dedicate all my time and energy to every role regardless of how different they might be from my own personality because I want to give 100% in all the roles that I take on.

Are there any specific genres or types of roles you aspire to explore in the future that you haven't had the chance to take on yet?

I’m open to anything and everything. Because I’m still at a very early point in my career and life, I want to do it all!

How do you balance the demands of your career with personal life and self-care, especially considering the fast-paced nature of the entertainment industry?

The time spent with my family and friends balances it all out for me. Whether it’s going out to dinner with them, watching movies, or simply hanging out at home, I am always happiest with them.

You are also known to be trained in martial arts. What sparked your interest in martial arts, and how does it complement your career in acting?

I had always enjoyed watching action TV shows and films when I was younger, so my parents had decided to put me in it knowing that it would make me happy. Throughout my career I’ve noticed a few similarities between acting and martial arts. In martial arts, you start off with choosing a specific style that you want to study and apply the techniques that you learn from it. However, the use of those techniques will vary depending on how that person incorporates themselves into it, and how they adapt to each situation, really making it individualized. Similarly, in acting, you will learn various methods and techniques and apply them to the scenes you are given. And within each character, there will always lie part of your true self. When acting out those scenes, actors infuse them with their personal life experiences as well. Just how an experienced martial artist will react differently in each situation.

What advice would you give to aspiring actors looking to establish themselves in the industry based on your own experiences and lessons learned?

Remain strong! Don’t worry about what others are doing or working on. At the end of the day, there is only so much you can control. Therefore, always give it your best effort no matter the character, scene, or project.

How does culture representation and involvement in community inspire you personally and professionally?

Through hope and love. Whether it is in my personal life or my career, I’m constantly motivated to improve myself as a human being.

Who is your inspiration and why?

My parents. They’ve sacrificed everything for me and given me more than I could ever imagine. I have a hard time understanding how they did it, but all I could come up with was love. The way my parents love my brother and I is unconditional and incomprehensible. I aspire to be like them every day.

Name 3 actors that you would like to work with and why?

The actor that I want to work with the most is William Dafoe. I could give a number of reasons explaining why I love him so much, but more than anything I would just like to learn from him and work alongside him. His wide range of work and different characters is what inspires me the most. Whenever I watch him on screen, it never feels like I’m watching William Dafoe play a character, rather it feels like he really is that character. He fully immerses himself into every moment. I find it to be extremely impressive and entertaining.

Can you share any insights or hints about your upcoming projects or roles in 2024 (besides Avatar: The Last Airbender) that your fans can look forward to?

I enjoy acting and I’m open to anything when it comes to roles and projects, so, all I can say is, 2024 is going to be an awesome year! GR8T

[kissmetwicekissmedeadly]

Ikemen fandom, I want your attention!

There's something I wanted to discuss for a long time now. Do you also feel like it's about time we abolish the term "content creation", especially while talking about the fandom challenges hosted around here?

Now, the Ikemen fandom is a somewhat tight-knit community that offers tons of positivity and support for making fanworks. I'm far from the thought that anyone here means any harm while calling others (and themselves) content creators. The truth is, ever since I was a fandom baby - and I'm not sure if the fact that I'm not a native English speaker plays a role in that - I looked at the term as something that simply combines the many forms of fanworks and has a positive connotation to it. It's making things easier when you want to include everyone. You want to say writers and artists and others but there are so many more forms of art and you don't want someone to feel excluded just because you haven't named their medium. And people here are so talented they rarely ever are just one thing. But sometimes we don't realize when a word can be harmful. If you call it content, that implies that it's been "produced" - and if it's produced, then later it can be "consumed". You can read one such post about this issue here that puts it in words better than I can.

That doesn't mean that if you're using the word content you're necessarily supporting this narrative, it simply means that someone can (rightfully) feel offended by that. Here we're used to seeing it around, and we won't think anything about it. But new people are joining our space all the time. Not to mention that Ikemen Villains is soon to release in English, undoubtedly bringing forth a new fave of fans. I can't tell anyone what to do, but I know I don't want to accidentally offend someone. It's a big deal for me, because I put a lot of passion into what I do here. The challenges are born out of my wish to inspire - firstly myself and then others. But it would be meaningless if I'm doing harm in the very title of one such post.

All of this I could discuss solely in front of myself, deciding on how I'm going to proceed with this, but I wanted to make this a public post in order to bring some awareness and hopefully do something positive for our fandom - in case you simply never looked at it this way when it needs to be, in case it really is as important as it seems to me right now. See it as me giving it advice, please! Not telling you what to do. I'm not judging anyone. I just want my friends to value themselves.

Now then, what do we think about a little change in labeling those challenges? I thought of "creative challenge". A double C instead of a triple C after your challenge's name. Not too big of a change but still an efficient one imo! While the people who create are creatives, the ones who create fanworks.

Let me know what you think of this whole thing, even if anonymously - my asks are open. I can't promise to be around much but I'll get to them eventually!

[ateez-himari]

[240707] A TO Z CLOSING

[NEW UPLOAD FROMM HIMARI]

[PM 11:01] I had so much fun meeting this many of our precious Tiny at once, thank you for making both days so wonderful!

[PM 11:02] Don't worry the costume wasn't as heavy as it looked ㅋㅋ It was really hot inside though so I had to wipe my skin after we changed out of them, but it was fun being a real tiger for a while!

[PM 11:02] I knew the child I carried don't worry, she's my niece! Apparently she kept asking my brother if they could go see 'Ma-i' (me) soon and since there were free seats management gave it to them. I heard she loved our aniteez so much that she made her mom buy a plush at the exit 🥹

[PM 11:03] Hmm...I wouldn't say it was hard preparing for the fanmeet but since there were other schedules that we needed to fly to it was definitely tiring. For the first time in a while I felt nervous about forgetting choreography

[PM 11:04] Oh yeah! I definitely didn't expect I would get the Maestro challenge, especially not the footwork...so I was shaking a little. I'm glad I got to do the normal chorus too because I really like the choreography

[PM 11:05] Deja vu, Guilty and Midas Touch were really fun as well, but I liked all of them! I wish I could have done all of the girl group ones, I knew them all ㅜㅅㅜ

[PM 11:05] I bet you guys were surprised by the cover stages too! I was kind of sad that none of the members wanted to do Accendio with me so I had to sing it by myself, but Feel So Good was so fun! Yongguk Sunbaenim sent me a message about it after because he saw it on social media ㅋㅋ

[PM 11:06] Also there was a very nice Tiny who let me take home an Arimyang plush with a really cute custom outfit! I think they said their name was Mikah. It's on my shelf now

[PM 11:07] After the amount of times we've done it you guys are still surprised when Mingi oppa and I kiss? ㅋㅋ We did it on the side stage so we didn't think you'd see

[PM 11:07] I was crying yes ㅜㅅㅜ It's just that seeing so many people here just to meet us made me a little emotional. It's hard to believe every time you know, but it's all thanks to you that we're able to do this ♡

[PM 11:07] Yeah Hongjoong oppa and I got emotional together. We were the first two trainees at KQ and he's the reason I'm here, so our hug was a little nostalgic

[PM 11:08] I'm glad to hear you all enjoyed yourselves! I hope we can meet like this again another time...I didn't really want to leave either

[PM 11:08] But I do have to go now, our dorm is going out to get some street food and the place is half an hour walk away

[PM 11:08] We could but walking is so much better in this weather, especially since we might see the others around after. The two other dorms are also going out and to places pretty close to ours

[PM 11:09] We said if we met up then we'd go shopping at those little street shop thingies. I'm running out of art supplies and they usually have what I need so I hope we go. We might also drink a bit but don't tell anyone!

[PM 11:09] Anyway my lovely Tinys I'll see you soon ♡ Love you so much, kisses!

[likeadeuce]

Challengers Fic, WIP Wednesday, Art and Tashi in their Friend Zone era

“I don’t want to get on a plane tomorrow and then never talk to you again,” Art said.

Tashi waited for the rest of it, the I know this is crazy and totally unexpected but if this is going to be our last night, what if we slept together, just for the beautiful memory.

She’d had the same conversation the night before she left high school for good, to play Juniors at the Aussie Open and train fulltime and home-school. With that guy, who didn’t matter, she’d barely had a hint he was interested that way before that night when he started kissing her -- and also she’d said yes because she was sixteen and a dumb virgin who was tired of being a dumb virgin. Compared to that guy Art might as well have had “stupid in love with Tashi Duncan” screenprinted on a T-shirt, and she’d indulged it and now she was going to have to say no and make both of them feel shitty.

“Come to Europe with me'" he said. Now that was crazy and totally unexpected. “After your exams. My folks rented a place in Mallorca for two weeks -- huge place, lots of room, and I’ll probably lose in the first round, and then Dad will want to take me deep sea fishing or something so we can be really masculine at each other and he can decide if he thinks I count as a person yet.”

“So I should ditch my plans and fly around the world to save you from the specter of male bonding. He shrugged, and she admitted, “Your mom already kind of invited me. When we were emailing about the photos for your slide show. Or, more like, she assumed I was coming, but possibly she thought I was your assistant.”

“Oh, Jesus,” he said. “See? Save me from having to be alone with these people. I’ll still mostly be training, and we can hit together, whatever you feel up to. Play some golf, go to the beach and eat olives and chorizo and -- what do they have? Flan? I can watch enviously while you eat the flan. Then we’re doing a few days of Wimbledon, I won’t make qualifiers yet but my agent and my marketing rep are supposed to introduce me around to industry people and you’ve definitely got a better head for all that than I do.”

Art had picked his agent and his marketing rep after a two hour phone call with Tashi’s father, who had been researching the best people to guide his baby girl since she was nine years old. Tashi was supposed to be on the call, too, but five minutes in, she fake-remembered a study group she couldn’t miss and went back to her room to take a few tequila shots and cry.

“You’d be doing me a favor,” Art said.

Tashi considered it for a moment. She really did. Sunshine and good food and the game she still wanted to love, sitting in the player’s box for a good-looking boy with a sky’s the limit future, sharing little jokes and secret looks and eventually, finally, falling into his bed because, Jesus, if he kept looking at her like that, she would forget all the reasons she knew that bed was a bad idea. Especially when the main reason was, simply, that he liked her too much.

“I would not be doing you a favor,” she said. “Because you know damn well what you’re talking about is girlfriend shit, and I’m not your girlfriend.”

She was ready for him to say No No No, that wasn't what he meant, they were friends, European beaches and shacking up with his family were just normal things friends did.

Instead, Art answered fast, with a broad grin that would let it be a joke if it had to be a joke. “Fortunately, that’s a fixable problem. Be my girlfriend.” For the first time in a long time, she saw the brash kid who had tried to get her number that night at the party, to hell if someone else wanted it, he had just as good a claim as anyone, and tonight it was even true. National champion with a face TV cameras would love and a body to kill for, and world number one in Being There for Tashi Duncan and never complaining about the Friend Zone of it all.

Art couldn’t keep up the bravado long enough for her to say no. His grin froze, then crumbled and he looked at the ground. “You don’t have to say it, Tashi. But I figured I needed to try.”

“If it helps at all, even if it weren’t for everything else --” She swallowed. “I couldn’t take being around all that tennis right now.”

[robotlesbianjavert]

what would you say are horikoshi's biggest strengths as a writer and what are his greatest weaknesses?

ooh that's a really good question that i've had to think a lot about. it's difficult cuz while i've read his tenko oneshot and the original my hero oneshot, i haven't read his other two multi-chapter works (oumagadoki zoo and barrage) (though i have seen the raw scans of his other oneshot shinka rhapsody thanks to @codenamesazanka). boku no hero academia is obviously his work i'm most familiar with, and it's difficult to use mostly that as a metric for his skills overall.

on the other hand, bnha lasts for so much longer than his other works and is also so much more recent, so it's the main work that has to show off how growth or lack thereof as a writer, as well as his biggest challenges due to how punishing the manga industry can be and how it would have forced him into situations he may not have experienced with his past works. so in a way, bnha kind of has to be judged a biiit separately from the rest?

anyways with those caveats aside. his greatest strength is always and forever his art, which in manga is at least half of the writing. he has this special little touch with physicality and emotion that like. it's hard to describe how exactly it's different from other artists, who are also often great with physicality and emotion! but horikoshi's art often has that extra bit of weight to it that really sells it to me.

like i've said previously, i also think that he does have a knack for character writing that shines best when he's working with complicated, rough around the edges characters who aren't straightforward goody-two-shoes. shigaraki and bakugou i've already said are great examples of this. endeavour can get more difficult to talk about in this context due to the baggage around him, but i'd maintain that a lot of the series best writing does go to him, shouto, and the rest of the todoroki plotline (although it struggled a bit at the end there). twice, while ultimately a really nice guy, is still a very complicated criminal who gets theeeeee best development in the series. obviously there's toga, normal cute girl of all time.

a lot of that extends to horikoshi's affection for his minor/side characters as well. while i don't think he always nails it with integrating them into the story (fucking shouji. also vigilantes honestly did parts of this better), he does obviously put a lot of thought into them even when he doesn't get to use it. this is part of why i adore spinner so much, because he's that very typical minor side character who could easily be written out but instead gets a fleshed out and evocative role of his own.

i also think that horikoshi has a really strong instinct and potential for great horror/horrific material. again, this is where shigaraki proves himself horikoshi's best character - everything from his initial character design with the hands, the hints and insinuations about his backstory dropped over the first and second acts, all culminating in the beautifully gruesome shimura family massacre that just hits every single fuckin time. i honestly think it's one of the greatest payoffs in the series, basically bar none. (i know people try to give that title to the dabi reveal, but i keep getting taken out by how abrupt that particular instance is) it's the horror moments that make his art especially shine, he comes up with great scenarios, and honestly when he mentioned wanting to try his hand at a horror work after bnha i'm like, all in.

but that kind of segues into my biggest criticism of his writing - he holds back. he gets meek, he doesn't go all in. he had some interview where he admitted that the yakuza arc took a lot out of him because of how dark it got,

this extends to the entire series, especially in how the third arc has shaken out. deku and all might are really big victims of this, where there is absolutely a lot of complex development and criticism you can do with the way their characters are set up, but the story backs down from that to go "well maybe they're just. too heroic sometimes. self-sacrificing. that's an issue right." the 'dark deku' arc is a joke because while deku does extend himself beyond his limits, he never gets to the point of causing real harm to himself and those around him before class 1a swoops in.

i also have my conspiracy theories about hawks and how the fallout of his murdering twice was soooooo weak, where i think the popularity of hawks and his status as a hero scared horikoshi off of doing anything more critical with him, instead feeding that overwrought backstory as a distraction and giving the whole "government sponsored murderer who is wracked with guilt and bitter about the hypocrisy" to nagant. who again he didn't go hard enough with because then deku would have like, something outside of shigaraki to actually deal with. and would have to question the society that he's protecting. whatever.

he's also been so half-assed with the critique and deconstruction of hero society that he's set up, only to hastily and clumsily reconstruct it because superheroes are too cool to reeeaaaaaally say anything about, and also hero society has too many parallels with real life modern society, which might be awkward to critique in a youth magazine meant to satisfy as broad an audience as possible.

and then there's the heteromorph arc. goddamn the heteromorph arc. if you follow me you've probably read this but @stillness-in-green's conclusive write up of heteromorph discrimination as it's been laid out throughout the story and how that arc failed, which i think really signifies either the ways that horikoshi doesn't dig as deep into the concepts he brings up as he should, or doesn't realize how deep he needs to go with them.

i don't know if part of the way that horikoshi holds back or lands on the most boring resolutions for some of the ideas the story brings up is in part due to not wanting to rock the boat culturally, if he doesn't want to accidentally turn readers away after he's worked so hard to get to where he is now as a mangaka, or if it's the workload wearing him down, but it leaves the story half-formed.

i also think his other greatest weakness, which is a brutal one for shonen, is that he kind of fucking sucks at interesting fight scenes. like how much stuff ends with deku giving a big punch. it is my honest and greatest opinion that it should have been iida fighting muscular and uraraka fighting stain either alongside or in place of deku - their characters just had so much more to gain there. but i can also imagine all the fanboys who only care about power stats sneering and asking what iida and uraraka could have possibly done, which i think really speaks to a lack of creative thought not just in the fanbase, but in the writer. horikoshi can spin up all these cool and unique powers, but struggles to do anything really engaging with them. given that shonen fight scenes double as big character moments, it leaves a lot to be desired. big punches can only be inspiring so many times.

anyways. there's probably a lot more i can say. but that involves retreating more of the story than i am willing to do so right now. so alas.

[emerald-dragonflame]

Art Style/AU Challenge PT 2: My Hero Academia's Style

Part 1 and Explanation here

I understand now why people hate lineart... thin lines suuuuuck. I don't think I captured the MHA style all that well, and I'm not entirely sure what exactly it's missing, but I hope it's still somewhat recognizable. Also, the names of the Flying Serpent Crew is subject to change in some AUs if I feel it works better with the story I'm telling (I'll put their real names in parenthesis so it's less confusing)

Backstory:

buckle up, this might be a bit wordy, but I tried to make it as brief as possible

Lady Drake: The Dragon Fire Hero

Quirk: Dragon

She has the ability to fly, breath fire, and have super strength, along with the ability to be resistant to fire

Taiba was born in Nigeria and immigrated to America when she was less than a year old with her parents and 3 other siblings. She's very cut off from her native country, and is the only one of her 3 companions that adores her adopted country. Making it a little difficult for her to really connect Bruce (Brosmýr's name in this AU), and Victerico, since their both also immigrants.

She had always wanted to be a pro hero, especially after her quirk appeared. In this AU, I headcannon that America in MHA, the way that you become a pro hero is either by 1. simply passing a test, like for driving or a GED, or 2. going to collage specifically for it, and Taiba went to college. This is were she meets Bruce Ficsher, her future partner and husband.

They both start their own independent company after college, of which I don't have a name for, yet.

Nightingale: The Feathered Lighting Hero

Quirk: Harpy

He can fly, is crazy fast, can control lightning, and can mimic voices and sounds, but only if he's heard them before

Bruce Ficsher was born and raised in Ireland for most of his childhood, but when his father got a job in the states, they moved there when he was a teenager. Due to this, he's still a little bit bitter at his father for forcing him to leave his friends and family to go to a country he barely cares for.

He's pretty down for the 2nd amendment tho.

When he was born, he... very much looked like a baby bird, bulging tired eyes, chicken wings, and all. He did eventually grow out some down feathers, but it didn't really help the teasing from his classmates. That is, of course, until he got a lot bigger than them. He was always referred to as a bit creepy, and being a bit of a loner didn't help.

Bruce wanted to be a hero mostly because of that. He wanted to show that even if he wasn't the most appealing looking hero, he could still do good. That he wasn't condemned to being a villain. That all he ever wanted to do was help those in need.

He was fine just simply talking the Hero's Test and shadowing under a Pro until he could get his full license, but his parents had other plans. So they sent him to college, where he met Taiba.

During their college days, they butted heads a lot. However, forced proximity made them need to start to work together (their powers worked very well together), and they learned that they were a very good team.

They started dating their first year together, and got married before they even finished college.

Captain Serpent: The Water Snake Hero

Quirk: Water Serpent

He has the ability to breath under water, use hydrokinesis, and glide in the air. He, however, can't fly

Victerico left his native country of Spain and when he was in his mid twenties. He is the eldest of the three, being in his early 40s, and is the one that was the most down on his luck.

You see, Viterico came to America on the hope that he could start a new life for himself. A better job, maybe find a wife, and start a family. However, bad break, after terrible luck, after bad timing led to him being homeless and jobless. And would have rather die than live like that, so he became a villain.

Due to his quirk making him look like a sea monster, Victerico decided to hang out in rivers and swamps, lying in wait for people to scare. When he did, they would either run, and hopefully drop something valuable, or he would threaten them until they gave him something valuable. It was awful, but it worked.

After a couple of years of doing this, he was captured by Taiba and Bruce, however, this would turn out to be his big break. For you see, Viterico was the only witness to a murder that had been perpetrated by an infamous serial killer.

He helped Lady Drake (Taiba) and Nightingale (Bruce) finally catch (and sadly kill) the villain, and in turn, the two of them heard his story. They rescued him from prison, on the condition that he become the third member of their agency. Viterico accepted, and after taking the test, and shadowing under the two of them, he became the latest member of the (name pending) Agency.

Main Story:

This is getting long, so I will try to make this brief; their agency ends up in Japan after the appearance of All for One, coming to try and help by their own volition. I imagine that they would want to try and help the students of UA. And with Bruce being a huge language nerd (seriously, if he wasn't gonna be a hero, he would've been a linguist), they were able to get along just fine in Japan. Coming into the main story of MHA after the Provisional Hero License Arc, trying their best to be both protectors of the UA students, and help with the expanding crime after All Might looses his power.

Single Portraits under cut ↓

[epicspheal]

So I finally did the whole “gym leader inspection” last night to see where the fandom is getting their “Evil Geeta” vibes from. And while the jury is still out on her until the DLC the bad blood between Geeta and the leaders isn’t striking me immediately as proof that she’s evil. Let’s start with the whole “Most of the gym leaders are anxious about the inspection” thing. Speaking as someone who has had a full time job, performance reviews are always a little nerve-wracking no matter what type of boss you may have. There is always room for improvement, let alone there’s always a chance you’re going to be told you need to do more. Not really sure how other leagues are ran but I could guarantee you that gym leaders from Kanto to Galar would also feel the same level of anxiety about a performance review and it honestly shouldn’t be used as proof that Geeta is evil. Rather proof that performance reviews suck and anxiety inducing. Now let’s go into some of the individual reactions. Brassius quite frankly really didn’t seem to care. He was more concerned about his new inspiration for art than the inspection. If anything being a gym leader is more of a side-gig to his art career. Neither did Iono as she’s far more concerned about her streams and viewer numbers moreso than the inspection itself. In fact she seemed very impressed that Geeta trusted the player to do the inspection Kofu probably takes this the best because he’s a restaurant owner. He understands that at times people judging him may be harsh and to not take it personally. This is an important skill that you have to learn as an adult in the working world and it’s easier said than done especially if you’re sensitive. I’m quite sensitive myself and it’s taken me a lot to get even to half of where Kofu is in regards to criticism especially if it’s not given tactfully in my opinion. Him saying Geeta is harsh doesn’t necessarily imply he thinks she’s bad at all. And I think if anything he welcomes any harshness because it helps him improve. Again, that’s a skill that’s hard to develop and hard to conceptualize if you haven’t been put in a position where you’ve been dealt harsh criticism. It certainly sucks to be on the receiving end and yes tactful delivery is still key but you can’t always expect “room for improvement” talks to always be delivered gently. Then there’s Katy who is bored of being the first gym leader and being told to go soft on Geeta. Honestly Geeta telling her to be softer on her opponents isn’t a bad thing. Gym leaders are supposed to be tests, not nigh-insurmountable obstacles. While going too soft on people isn’t great, crushing new trainers off the bat isn’t helpful either as you can indeed squander potential talent doing that. Something Geeta recognizes. Katy here is in her feelings but it is understandable. No one likes losing, and with her being a bug type specialist there is probably the added sting of feeling like she’s conforming to the stereotype that Bug types are week. However, Geeta isn’t in the wrong for what she said. Rather it’s up to Katy to do something about it if she’s so discontent from being the first gym leader. She can up her challenge a bit, going soft doesn’t mean being a cakewalk. Or if this really bothers her, get better at being a trainer so she can become a leader that’s recommended to be faced later on despite being so close to Mesagoza. And to her credit, Katy does at least recognize that after the battle with the intent of battling at a higher level. Whether that means not being as soft on newer trainers or just trying to make sure she gets a higher rank we’re not sure, but she has the maturity to not really blame Then you have Tulip who says she’s not Geeta’s biggest fan because she dislikes how bewitching Geeta’s aura is compared to her own. Now some people may have latched on to the bewitching as proof that she’s evil but when you look at the definition of bewitching it means “enchanting or delightful” or in other words “so beautiful or attractive that you cannot think of anything else”. This actually kind of implies Tulip might be a bit jealous of Geeta and how she carries herself rather Geeta being malicious. She compares Geeta’s aura to her own and calls it similarly bewitching implying that both of them have an enchanting way about them. And often when two people of similar vibes meet they may end up clashing. I think the whole ESP gym test makes people perhaps read a bit more into the bewitching thing because Tulip may have psychic powers we don’t know and so maybe she knows something we don’t. And it very well may be shown in the DLC that Tulip’s words were foreshadowing. But the bewitching line to me at least at the moment, strikes me more as a “I’m a bit envious of the chairwoman” over “the chairwoman is evil” Then you have Ryme who is rather blatantly insulted that Geeta sends the player to do the inspection rather than herself. She even states that she had been looking forward to proving the strength of ghost-types to her and felt a bit robbed. Now again this really isn’t a “Geeta is evil” type thing. Sure it probably would’ve been nicer to have Geeta mention that she was sending someone else as a courtesy. But I think Ryme’s feelings of being insulted come from a place of insecurity. She’s only been the leader for a year and a half and she does enjoy the job. Again like I said earlier, performance reviews will make any employee nervous but especially newer ones who haven’t been on the job all that long. So I can definitely see why Ryme was upset as she probably felt like this was a snub and as someone who has been a new employee I can sympathize with her feelings. But it doesn’t make Geeta bad that this happen. The only bad thing Geeta did was just not tell everyone she was sending someone else. Next is Grusha who during the inspection talks about being worried that he’ll lose his job and the only other thing he has talent for. Again much like Ryme is this is definitely coming more from insecurity on the part of Grusha over Geeta being a bad boss. Like Ryme it also comes from an understandable place. He suffered a great loss in losing his ability to snowboard and knowing that his gym leader position is a job that can be lost as well is certainly anxiety inducing. Especially for someone like himself who tends to wrap their identity in their talents. I don’t even think he actually dislikes Geeta he’s just terrified of potentially of not doing well enough to stay in his position. Again that’s something extremely relatable but not necessarily a mark on Geeta herself. Finally there is Larry who has the most outright grievances towards Geeta. Him having outright grievances doesn’t mean she’s evil though. A lot of people have grievances with their bosses and it could be that their boss is bad, it could be they themselves are the bad ones, or maybe neither are bad and they just don’t mesh. And honestly even though they clearly have beef Geeta does tell him to stop doing overtime. She may not be the world’s best boss but her telling him to chill on the overtime does count for something when there are plenty of bosses who will happily let you work overtime, even unpaid overtime. And also yes, she does ask him to use a different type when battling as an Elite Four member but honestly that’s not a bad boss thing. One it makes sense that if you’re going to use someone as both a gym leader and elite four member (who are generally all type specialists) to switch things up to keep challengers on their toes. After all the Champion’s Test is an assessment. And as Larry himself states, he understands why she asked him to switch things up. He realizes that he misses a lot of growth by just staying in one lane with one type and he’ll become stronger as a trainer if he takes different approaches. Yeah he still doesn’t like her but he’s mature enough as an adult to realize when she’s making good points and that’s important although again a tough point to get to. Because it’s often really hard to hear good points from someone you’re not the biggest fan of. So honestly if anything Geeta and the gym leader’s relationship really resembles real life workplaces. Not everyone is buddy-buddy. People get anxiety when performance reviews or big meetings are called. People have insecurities that tend to get poked in certain situations. It doesn’t necessarily mean any one person is good or bad.

[sirfrogsworth]

I'm still slumping 2 weeks after my last movie outing.

I've been reconsidering going to movies as my way to escape the house.

It requires about 40 minutes of driving plus 2.5 hours at the theater. It's just too much time upright for me. And I feel the consequences are only worth maybe once a month. Once a week was too much. Though I feel like I still need to get out of the house more than once a month to keep sane.

My other idea was to take little photography trips. I could find a location that might make for some cool photos. I can limit myself to 30 minutes or something. And then I head home.

It's possible I might be getting some backpay if my disability increase is approved. I'm probably going to save most of it. But I am considering getting myself something that I normally wouldn't be able to. I miss photography almost more than regularly making comedy. So maybe I'll get a nice camera and a lens.

I've always had to get mid level APS-C cameras. They were the best I could afford. Which were great and I was able to get professional results. Some people think if you get a better camera your photos will magically be better. But better cameras do not automatically give you better image quality. They make it *easier* to get better image quality, especially in challenging circumstances.

For instance, on a fancy camera with really good sensor stabilization, you can take photos in dark environments without a tripod. That is a huge convenience, especially for a disabled photographer.

Or eye-tracking autofocus can assure you get perfect focus on every shot. I used to have to take dozens of extra photos for safety because it was difficult to check focus on that tiny screen. That added a lot of time to my sessions. Now I could take fewer pictures which helps save time while photographing but also at home when I am editing.

A bigger sensor makes it easier to get background blur and you can be closer to your subject in cramped spaces. And you don't need expensive prime lenses to get the same blur as an f/2.8 or whatever. So I can have smaller, lighter, and more affordable lenses that achieve similar quality.

So a better camera doesn't make you a better photographer. It is more like changing a video game's difficulty from hard to medium.

The only bummer is that I loved working with artificial lighting. That was an art form on its own. Shaping light was so fascinating and the resulting images just looked unreal. But it requires a ton of extra time and energy. So I will probably have to become a natural light photographer. But that presents a lot of fun challenges too. There is no photography I don't love, so I'll be okay. I just miss my lights.

I may not be able to afford a new fun thing at all. So I am not getting my hopes up or anything. But if I could do photography again and improve my mental health, I think that might be a worthy investment.