#there’s only so many replicas that’s so special to me

[mer-se]

First time meeting the Angel of grief (at golden hour) 🍂🪽

[braceletofteeth]

Congratulations to Never Let Me Go for being the second drama to get the highest rating from me this year. Currently preparing my mind and body to be insufferable about it forever.

[kathaynesart]

It is that time of year again, though this one is a little more special, I suppose. Wish I could do more, but I'm super busy with the Replica Holiday Special and a few other projects! A lot of people really liked my TED Talk last year about aging, so I guess I could give an update on that for those interested!

The big 4-0. It feels strange, being here and not feeling like I should be. I was always a Toys R Us kid / Lost Boys brat who never wanted to grow up and did everything possible to make it so! Still do I suppose, haha. The older I get, the quicker time seems to fly. It literally feels like my 39th was a month or so ago. But I also feel like I'm able to retain and understand so much more.

This past year has been intense. I dealt with the loss of a dear friend even younger than myself and went through a major cancer scare that really put my life into perspective. Through it all, being a part of this community has been a bedrock and something to focus my mind on as I grappled with these daunting aspects of my life. To be creative again has brought so much new energy into my life and being surrounded by so many other wonderful, supportive creatives and followers has been the greatest blessing.

Each of you who have sent me art, or words of encouragement, or questions have only added to this wonderful experience. And while I cannot answer them all due to time and shear mass, I still read each and every one of them, and I thank you. Truly.

There is so SO much I still want to do in this life and for this community, and while it's not something I'm really making any sort of money from, it has been so nice to simply create again. Makes me feel like a kid.

I don't know what this next year will bring but I'm just... so grateful to be alive. It's a true blessing and privilege to grow old that many do not receive in their life. And while I may not truly be "old" in the grand scheme of things compared to many, I, WE ALL, will always be the oldest we have ever been in every moment of our existence. Whether that be 9 or 90. So enjoy your oldest moment every chance you get! <3

[skylarkspinner]

fiber art adventures in egypt

I recently got back from a trip to Egypt & finally got around to organizing some pictures to share. One of the things I was most excited about was seeing what I could find on fiber arts and textiles.

Dropping everything under a read more, 'cause this will be a long post haha

first visit: the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)

At the time of visiting, they had a special textiles exhibit. It covered Pharonic Egypt all the way up to modern times, although I only had time to check out the dynastic & a bit of the Coptic portion of the exhibit (which was what I was really hoping to see anyways)

Was super excited to see this diorama in person. I knew about it but had never seen good pictures of it. From the little I've seen of ancient Egyptian spinning, spinning with two spindles seems to be the norm rather than a master technique? It also shows up in tomb art, which the exhibit also shared:

They also used a different fiber preparation (splicing to create a rove of fiber, no traditional drafting to my understanding) so that probably made a difference? Regardless I really want to see if I can replicate the technique, especially because their spindles look so similar to modern spindles??

I took so many pictures of spindles, guys, and I fully intend to either have a few replicas made or to learn to make some myself. Also, although they were unlabeled... I'm pretty sure those are beaters for weaving? That was a bit of a trend with this trip, so much stuff was unlabeled :( I would've killed to at least get some date estimates for some of the stuff they had on display. I was nerding out in here though, and my family took a few pictures of how excited I was getting. A bit embarrassing, but eh haha

The exhibit also had a section on natural dyes used with a fun visual;

There was several diagrams specifically describing each dye source, but in the interest of not overloading on pictures I'll just list them out. For blues; woad, Yellows; turmeric, safflower, saffron, or yellow ochre; reds; madder, henna, pomegranate, and kermes. I originally thought kermes was another way to say cochineal, but it only seems to be distantly related.

next visit: Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center

A small art center dedicated to hand-weaving wool and cotton tapestries. All of their work was museum quality & awe inspiring!!

Was even invited to their back rooms to watch a few of their weavers working; no I don't have room to put a room-sized loom anywhere but heck do I want one now

Our guide that took us through talked a bit about the natural dyes they use (all of their dyes are dyed in house with what they grow in their dye garden!!!) and got excited to hear I was also interested in natural dyes! He seemed a bit disappointed I'd never worked with indigo and. while indigo scares me, I'll take it as a sign that maybe I should try some time this year haha.

final visit; the Egyptian Museum

we really had to rush through this one which was a huge shame because it's packed full of artifacts. Also, the lighting in there is atrocious, so apologies for the not great pictures ahead.

They had a fascinating display of textile tools, more than what the NMEC had;

(Hand for size reference) I want all of these spindles! So badly! But a few of them look so much like a few of the spindles I own already?? A few of them had a spiraling notch, that's so cool? But also, what's going on with the one with two whorls? I have no idea. I'm fascinated.

Look at these whorls!! Although again, I'm a bit confused; the lack of labeling strikes again. Unsure why some of these "whorls" have two holes, or what the metal object with the wooden handle is. The display implies sewing needles, and some of them do look like it, but others.... really don't look like sewing needles. I'm absolutely enchanted by this little whorl though. I think it has birds on it?

More objects that I'm baffled by- the signage doesn't really indicate what some of this stuff is, if it's even known. Also confused by the object wrapped in white string in the right pic; it looks like a distaff but to the best of my knowledge the (ancient at least) Egyptians didn't use distaffs. It probably popped up in later times and was put in this display since it was still relevant, but I'm still not sure.

I have so many more pictures & thoughts but I'll save those for more specific future projects. I've been doing research outside this trip on ancient Egyptian spinning techniques and desperately want to go deeper into that, this trip just solidified how excited it makes me. If you made it all the way through this, many thanks for reading!

Bonus; look at this ancient linen 🥺

[lynzishell]

The Present ❤️ Selvadorada

Prev // Next

Transcript below the cut:

Asher: Jesus, look at this place. This is the museum?  Atlas: Yep, this is it. Asher: Wow. Kind of intense, isn’t it? Atlas: Little bit.

Little Sister: What is it? Big Sister: It’s a dinosaur, stupid. Little Sister: I’m not stupid, you’re stupid. Big Sister: Good one. Little Sister: Shut up. I’m telling mom. Big Sister: [mocking] i’M tElLiNg MoM

Child: Mommy, why can’t we go downstairs? Parent: That section isn’t for kids, sweetie. Child: Why? Parent: I don’t know, I’ve never been down there.

Twin1: Why did they frame it if it’s broken? Twin2: Because it’s old, duh. Twin1: So, it’s old and broken and that makes it special? Twin2: [shrugs] I guess. Twin1: Dad, I’m bored. Can we get ice cream?

Atlas: Holy shit. Asher: What? Atlas: I’ve seen these before. Asher: Really? Where?

Atlas: Well, I… in a dream, I think. Asher: What? Atlas: Yeah, I used to have this recurring dream, and there were skeletons in it just like this. Three in a row. Asher: Weird. Atlas: You have no idea. [waves to museum employee] Excuse me.

Sam: Hi there, I’m Sam. Can I help you with something? Atlas: What are these? Sam: Ah, these are the Temple Guards. Atlas: Temple? Sam: Yes, the jungle used to be home to three ancient temples. They were said to contain great treasures, and people would come from all over in search of them. The Guards were one of many things that would protect the temples from trespassers. Asher: They don’t seem very intimidating.

Sam: [laughs] No, these wouldn’t. These are just replicas. The real ones are much larger and are said to have the ability to curse their enemies. Atlas: What kind of curse? Sam: It varies. Legend has it, they take the victim’s greatest wish and turn it into their nightmare. Asher: Creepy. Sam: Very. If you’re interested in learning more, we have the real thing downstairs. It’s a slow day. I can give you the full tour at a 25% discount. Asher: Um… Atlas: Let’s do it. Sam: Follow me.

Sam: Now, everything you see around you, with the exception of some reinforced archways and support beams, comes from the actual temple ruins. These temples were constructed as mazes with various floors, rooms, hidden doorways, and dead ends. They were designed to confuse their enemies and cause them to get lost, unable to find their way out. And, if that wasn’t enough, the whole place was booby trapped. These devices here, they would shoot arrows at anyone who tried to cross them. However, they contain a puzzle. By solving the puzzle, one could deactivate them and continue on.

Sam: This is the kind of room one may find themselves trapped in. The only way out, again, is to solve the puzzle. Get it wrong, and each podium has a different punishment in store for you. Atlas: Why would anyone go into these temples if they’re so dangerous?

Sam: Oh, plenty of reasons. Greed, adventure… Sometimes people just think they’re special. That, even if hundreds have failed before them, somehow, they’re the one who will make it through, the one who will make it out alive. But I’ve yet to hear a story where someone did. Trouble is, once you’re in, there’s only one way out, and good luck finding it.

Asher: [pokes Atlas] Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Atlas: [nods] It’s perfect. Sam: This way, my favorite room is just up ahead.

Asher: Whoa. Atlas: This is amazing. Sam: Right?!

Sam: There are freshwater pools in the jungle. We have no idea how they got there, but they’re said to have been cursed. That they were originally created as traps for those seeking out the temples. It could be very temping to go for a swim, but if you were to try it, you’d be pulled straight to the bottom.

Asher: Fantastic. Atlas: You okay? Asher: How ‘bout we move on? Sam: Oh, uh, sure.

Sam: And here we have the real Guards. Asher: Okay, yeah, these are a bit more intimidating. Atlas: The real ones? Sam: That’s right. The very ones that stood inside one of the temples. Atlas: The temples, are any of them still there? Sam: ‘Fraid not. Only ruins. We’ve collected what we could and preserved it all here in this museum.

Atlas: I think maybe it’s time we head back to our rental. Asher: Yeah. This place is creepy, isn’t it? Atlas: That’s putting it mildly. Sam: Well, good news is, the next stop is the last on our tour. Bad news is, it’s about to get a lot creepier. Asher: Not sure how you’ll manage that.

Sam: This is Barbara. Asher: Barbara? Sam: Well, no. She doesn’t have a name, so I make up a new one every time I come down here. Just whatever pops in my head. So, today she is Barbara. Asher: You really enjoy your job, don’t you, Sam?

Sam: I do. And this is my favorite part. You see, it wasn’t only those looking for treasure or grand adventures that were trapped in these temples. Anyone who wandered nearby could fall victim. Legend has it, the temple

would come alive at night, and so would Barbara. She would crawl her way out of the ground and lure in anyone who dared to get too close. As I mentioned, once inside, there was only one way out. But also, there was a limited amount of time in which to escape. Once the sun rose, the temple went to sleep again, the exit sealed, and anyone left inside was lost forever.

Atlas: What happened to them? Sam: Nobody knows.

[Later]

Asher: I’m so glad we’re finally back. I’m exhausted after all that. Atlas: Me too. You were right. We never would’ve made it out of the jungle before dark. I’m glad we decided to wait. Asher: Me too. We should get to bed soon so we can get up early tomorrow, take our time. Atlas: Good idea. [snuggle] Hey, Ash, I— Asher: Jesus, do see this? Come here.

Asher: I can’t believe how many stars are out tonight. We never see this in the city. Atlas: It’s beautiful. Asher: Sorry for cutting you off just now. What were you going to say?

Atlas: Oh, um… nothing. I was just going to say that I love you. Asher: [smiles] I love you too.

[astrodances]

"Now I've had the time of my life No, I never felt like this before Yes, I swear it's the truth And I owe it all to you"

This is a very, very special drawing for me. ✨

In September of last year, I watched Dancing With The Stars' "Step Into the Movies" special again, at the end of which they recreate "The Time of My Life" scene from Dirty Dancing. And that sent me on a nostalgia trip back to my high school theater days over a decade ago now, where the drama club accepted my idea to do a "Time of Our Lives" theme, and a performance for that song à la Glee. Mind you, I was mainly the stage manager/techie sort, but I did some scenes for the showcases, and participated in this song with my then-boyfriend, along with two other couples.

And while we were hanging out in the green room backstage, a friend took some pictures of us. Including the one that directly inspired this drawing of Webby + Lena.

This started out as a memory remix of that photo, after watching the DWTS special, because I thought these two lovebirds would be really cute subjects for it.

But once I got going, it turned into a love letter, for many things.

As part of the remix aspect of it, I now picture myself in Lena's spot in the photo, getting to have the short hair I wish I had had back then, and getting to wear a suit and tie! (Yes, in the original photo, I am wearing the dress and red bow Webby's sporting here, and I have long hair. 🙈 Though I will say here that the little heart necklace she's wearing is exactly like the one I had, too! :)) Drawing this was really cathartic for my nonbinary self. 💜

And as for Webby, in this remix, she represents someone that, in retrospect, I wish I had shared this moment with from back then. In many ways, she really was the Webby to my Lena. 💜💖💝

(Literally) beyond the subjects of this though, this is indeed very much a love letter to a lot of things, to passions. The background is pretty much a replica of the drama classroom wall we were in front of for the photo, at least as far as layout goes, with a few direct recreations of things that were on the wall and on the table there. Everything else was me being a passionate (theatre) nerd.

(Details (many details) of said nerdiness and alternate versions below the cut!)

I've included un-blurred and background-only versions (and a version with drop shadow lines on the girls, because why not? it's a cool effect!) below, but I just want to point out the details, because I'm so dang proud of this.

The posters/programs for The Phantom Blot of the Opera, Featherspray, Chickago, and My Fair Dewey are obvious duck-parody references to their real-world counterparts (with the latter being the exact poster they use in DuckTales, in Dewey's dream in "Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!" So thanks, Dewey! 😂). The Featherspray one was also included because Hairspray was one of the shows we did in high school! And lemme just say, creating theater posters is really fun!!

The MJ the Musical poster and the half-shown Notre Dame de Paris "Duckbill" right behind Lena's head are particularly special to me, since they (along with Phantom) are my favorite musicals, and getting to draw those two was especially fun!

The L'Orange Theater poster in the top-right is a bunch of duck easter eggs in one - the L'Orange Theater is mentioned and seen in the very first episode of DuckTales 1987, and of course, there's Aquarioon from DT17! Looks like it toured in Duckburg a long time ago. 😉

And the sheet music is the DuckTales theme! (Or at least the left side of it :P)

The "Congrats" card, calendar (the whale for upper half was my own touch), folder, page of random backstage stuff behind Lena's head (which includes little Star Trek and Darkwing Duck references), and golden "Theatre" card (with my old director's favorite quote) are directly from the photo (or at least based on what I could see through its blurriness 😝), as is the very edge of a cast photo in the upper-right. The purple note (totally not with any secret messages whaaaaat) below that, the certificate of excellence, and the little pride heart pins everywhere are little garnishes/dedications. 😊

The stage/theater diagram below the certificate is really cool, because that's a direct recreation (+ another hidden message) of a project a friend and I did for stagecraft back in our freshman year - I was even able to copy my own handwriting for the labels! 😄😂

The "Time of Our Lives" poster is a reference to the showcase I mentioned above that inspired all this, though the real-life poster looked very different, from what I remember.

The green bag below is sorta a nod to the secret pal exchanges we used to do during shows. 😉

And finally:

The Glittering Goldie show poster is me just having an absolute blast drawing her once again and coming up with something for her Blackjack days! And bonus - I'll be posting a gradient-only version of Goldie tomorrow! Really happy with how she turned out!

And the "All the World's a Stage" poster is me combining all of my theatre nerdiness with my passion for space and a good pun! 😁

ANYWAY...

I learned a lot with this drawing, about creating and about myself.

And I just had so, so much fun with it - it was all love, all passion, all happiness for this one. 💜💖💝

Wishing the same for all of you. ✨

Love, Astro 💜

[alphajocklover]

Possessed by the Power of Thor

**hey guys! This story was requestioned by someone in my dms who prefers to remain anonymous. I still wanna give them a shout out for helping me refine the story and challenging me to try something new. I’ve never done anything with macro or giant growth before so here goes nothing! Hope you like it!**

Ronald Blake loved superheros. He absolutely adored them. That might not seem so unique at first, after all most nerdy teenagers love superheros. Hell with the movies and the popularization of what was once considered fringe, geeky culture, most people loved superheros. A lot of jocks liked superheros. But Ron was absolutely obsessed. His bedroom was a shrine to his favorite heros, with posters and shelves of memorabilia covering the walls. His meticulously cared for comic book collection took up 3 closets, and was only allowed to be read with gloves. Ron would spend every day in his room, reading and rereading comics, dissecting how they worked and the tropes they used. Ron’s favorite superhero was Thor, the joy of almost sharing a name with his original secret identity (yes Thor had a secret identity once, as Ron will happily tell you) having sparked a lifelong love of the character. Normally none of this would be a problem. Sure Ron was fairly obsessive, but a lot of people got that way about their hobbies. The issue was that Ron used comics as a way to avoid life. Ron was, to put it crudely, fat and shy. The 19 year old had been overweight as long as he could remember, and though he had plenty of online friends, could barely talk to other people in person. He spent almost every day holed up in his room, losing himself in the fantasy of his comic books to try and forget how depressed he was.

That's what made the fact that Ronald was outside today so surprising. Usually the only time Ron left his room was to see his mom or to go to a convention. But today Ron was after something special. He had found someone selling a perfect replica of Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. There were plenty of people selling replicas like that, but this one was incredibly cheap, high quality, and even came with a base that it would be stuck to unless someone used special gloves to remove it. It was literally perfect and so cheap that Ron couldn’t resist. Normally he’d be more suspicious but the sellae had great reviews, and the pictures of the replica were many and detailed. Still he had insisted on seeing it in person before buying it. Ron had expected to open the door to find a fellow out of shape geek excited to show off his latest work and get some money. What he found instead surprised him. The man towered over Ron, and looked more like he belonged in a gym than talking to someone like Ron. He grinned confidently and greeted Ron with an incredibly firm, manly handshake.

“You’re Ron right? Ronald Black?” He asked with a charming grin

“Uh, B-blake actually. R-ronald Blake.” Ron said, shaking off his shock. The jock in front of him grinned wide before continuing.

“Like Donald Blake from the earlier comics. I guess it’s fate that you’re buying the replica. I’m Clark, Clark Keen.” Clark said with a charming grin as he hesitates for Ron to come in

“Like Clark Kent. That’s a c-coincidence. T-though you look more like Superman than I do like Thor…” Ron said with a slight self deprecating chuckle. Clark didn’t seem to notice

“Thanks man! I spend a lot of my free time working out. Muscle helps a lot when you're making things out of metal.” Clark said with a grin as he led Ron to his backyard “Now, there is something I have to tell you about this replica. The reason I’m selling it for so cheap. It’s… flawed.” Clark admitted. Ron’s heart sank to his chest. “I would have told you online but by the time I realized I hadn’t included the mistake in the seller info you were already here. See, the guy who engraved the writing on Thor's hammer made a typo. A big one.” Clark said. Clark opened the door, and revealed the hammer.

It was an incredible replica. Detailed, made of quality, lightweight, but realistic looking materials. Despite its intricacies it still looked just as intimidating and strong as it was supposed to in the comics. Ron could swear he even felt an aura of power coming off of it.

But the inscription was… off. It was supposed to say the phrase ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’ There had been some small changes to it throughout the years, like making the he into a she when Jane Foster became Thor for a while, but that was the original words, the iconic ones that had lasted through the years.

That wasn’t what the hammer said

It read ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall BE POSSESSED BY the power of Thor.’

Ron was devastated. He thought he had finally found an amazing cheap replica of his favorite comic book weapon, only for it to have a huge flaw. Sure it was a simple typo, but memorabilia like this was all about the details. It would be the first thing all of his online friends noticed. Clark could see the heartbreak on Ron’s face and tried to soften the blow

“I know it’s a bummer, but it’s still quality work. You’ve come all this way, why don’t you at least hold it. See how it feels in your hands.” Clark suggested. Ron was skeptical… but he might as well give it a try. Maybe he could ask how Clark made it. He seemed like a nice enough guy. Ron went over to the hammer with a strange sense of trepidation. As he wrapped a hand around the handle of the replica and lifted it up, he felt… strangely accomplished. He knew it wasn’t actually Mjolnir, that being able to lift it didn’t actually mean he was worthy of anything, but he allowed himself to lose himself in the fantasy and feel proud. That was until a horrible shock surged down his arm, causing Ron’s arm to seize up. He groaned in pain, and tried to drop the large hammer, but was unable to let go. What was happening? He felt like he was being electrocuted. He looked over to Clark in a panic, only to see a satisfied grin on his face. Ron began to panic.

“W-what did you do? What is this!?” Ron asked in fear. Clark calmly walked over to Ron, grabbed his hand, and led the disoriented man out to his backyard as he explained.

“See Ron, you may not know it but you’re a very lucky person. You live in a world without supervillains. Sure, you have your own issues, but you aren’t terrorized by city destroying monsters in shitty masks. Not every reality is so lucky.” Clark said cryptically, before continuing “There are worlds out there, other realities, that need heros. I find these world heros. Or, if there aren’t any to find… I make them.” Clark explained. Ron felt another shock wrack his entire body, like electricity in his veins. He was so consumed by his pain that he barely noticed as he began to grow, shooting up in height until he was an inhuman 10 feet tall. His shoulders widened to span more than 3 feet between them. Simultaneously, his fat melted away and the space it had occupied and more was soon taken up by enormous bulging muscles. They each grew to inhuman proportions: biceps alone like watermelons, pecs so large and jutting out so much they were in size similar to pillows…very hard pillows, abs so defined there are no words and legs long and wide enough with muscle to make all the muscular proportions fit, even look handsome. His jaw sharpened as his hair grew longer. He didn’t look like himself anymore or any human for that matter. He looked too tall, strong, handsome…like a god. Suddenly Ron understood.

“You’re… you’re turning me into Thor?!” He asked in shock. Ron had fantasized about being a superhero before, especially being Thor, but the actual prospect of being Thor was overwhelming. He couldn’t be a superhero! Before he could further panic, Clark interrupted

“While, not exactly. See the world you’re going too is one where people can grow to incredible size. You’re not just going to be Thor. You’re gonna be the biggest version of Thor ever.” Clark said with a smirk. Ron wanted to panic, but he felt strangely… confident? Almost cocky even. Suddenly Ron felt another shock as he shot up even higher, becoming even taller and more muscular. He continued like this for a while, growing in increasingly large spurts. First he shot up to 20 feet, then 50, then 200. By the end of the growth he was, well…

…600 feet tall, with muscles as big as mountains. Even with his massive height he had the proportions of a bodybuilder. No, of a god. That’s what he was after all. A fucking god. Somewhere in all the shocks and growth spurts Ronald Blake had been lost, and Thor Odinson, the giant cocky god, was born. This version of Thor seemed to have quite the ego on him, even more than his regular version. He ran a hand through his long, thick blond hair, a smirk on his handsome face. He chuckled as he saw the SHIELD helicarrier fly nearby. Midguardians were so puny it was almost pitiful. Still, he was a merciful god and loved playing the role of superhero. A familiar voice broke his train of thought as an equally gigantic version of Superman appeared behind him, a large grin on his face.

“So, you ready to save the world?” Superman asked. Thor held his giant hammer tightly, a confident, charming grin on his face. Fuck yeah he was.

[yandere-daydreams]

Having to deal with entertaining BOTH Gojo and Getos little high school fantasies though

i know this would be infinitely more practical in a geto stayed au, but there's just,,, a part of me in love with the idea that the ONLY reason they talk for ten entire years is to maintain split custody of their mutual unhealthy coping mechanisms. they keep you locked up safe in a perfect replica of a jujutsu tech dorm room. they make sure you don't have access to anything modern, anything that would let you know what kind of people they've become in the last few years. gojo fucks you on a twin-sized mattress with early 2000s anime blaring in the background while geto watches from the windowsill, smoking a brand of cigarettes that hasn't been manufactured since you were a teenager and occasionally negging gojo for acting so desperate to pop your cherry, as if they haven't been doing this for months, as if you haven't lost track of how many times they've fucked you. sometimes, if it's a special occasion, they'll take you to their favorite arcade and gojo will pretend not to notice that geto's, uh, 'taken care of' the staff/customers so they can grope you while you try and fail to play a few ancient cabinets. you're sorta like a human weighted blanket, if a weighted blanket was a hostage in their late-twenties who could wear exclusively high school uniforms and subsist on nothing but soft-drinks and things that would fit into the average 10th grader's diet.

[lesbiancarat]

you know what makes me the most mad is that in 2020 there were so many people saying that this would be good for seventeen's careers, it would give them more money and more opportunities to promote, especially in the west. and i'll be honest, i didn't care about that then and i don't care about it now. what a lot of people failed to realize at the time is that, even if things end up being fine for seventeen, doesn't mean the same is true of the fans

of course I want seventeen to do well. but i'll be honest, i only care about them doing well insofar as it means they're well off enough financially to be stable and support themselves and their families, and to be popular enough that they can keep making music for a long time. anything above that i could take or leave, and if taking it means having a shitty fandom experience, i'd rather leave it. and i don't want to create a false dichotomy here, i'm not someone who believes that success is synonymous with having an unhealthy fandom. but i'm tired of kpop fans acting like the fans' interests, OUR interests, are always the same as our artists' interests

and the truth is, the fandom experience over the last 4 years HAS gotten worse. merch has gotten vastly more expensive, we're constantly being advertised to about it, even though half the merch is crap anyway. albums have gotten more expensive without necessarily being higher quality, and you have to pay a membership fee just for the chance of getting presale, or the CHANCE to get access to a special event attached to a concert you already paid tickets for

money aside, there's also the fact that going seventeen and other seventeen contents on youtube NEVER used to have midroll ads, now it's not unusual to have 3 or more midroll ads in a single video. they also seem to fail to understand aspects of seventeen's brand, the caratbong V3 was such a fail because it felt like it aligned more the "hybe brand" of being sleek, black, and modern, while completely disregarding the seventeen brand of rq&s

there have also genuinely been so many more fandom wars in caratland since the hybe acquisition, there was a noticeable difference immediately after the announcement, and it has not died down. this is obviously not intentional on hybe's part, and i'm not going to blame this on any one fandom, because carats have also been more combative since that time. but i do see the hybe acquisition as a clear cause, because it forced fandoms that were not used to it to share space. it made fandoms more aware of each other's presence, and that's always going to create tension. and it exacerbated any pre-existing tensions between fandoms

in a similar vein, there's been more discourse within the fandom since the hybe acquisition too. over the last several years, every comeback there's been discourse about how much influence hybe did or didn't have over the music, the concept, the merch, whether the acquisition was worth it or if it was the end of the world. regardless of where you stand on each of those things, you can't deny how many fandom arguments there have been over the last 4 years purely centered around hybe. you can't deny that hybe is much more devisive

and yes, before hybe, fandom wars existed. despite carats' "peaceful" reputation it did happen. there were times pre-hybe that carats weren't satisfied with the merch, like the time they tried to sell replicas of seventeens rings. there was sometimes even discourse about how much pledis had meddled with woozi's vision of their music. but trust me as someone who was in the fandom pre-hybe, that these things have become so much more prevalent since after the acquisition

there's also the fact that under hybe, us fans have far less influence than we did with pledis. with pledis we were able to successfully scare them into not releasing the ring replicas, we were able to successfully boycott the getting closer MV when pledis wanted to start uploading seventeen's MVs to the pledis channel instead of the seventeen channel, which had more subscribers. tell me, how many decisions have been made under hybe that made carats angry, and among those, how many were carats able to successfully convince hybe to change their approach on? because personally i can't think of one. hybe has many other lucrative streams of revenue. they aren't scared by threats

and now here we are with seventeen collaborating with an artist none of us asked for, who stands against the values that many of us hold, and we're expected to just support it anyway? because it's seventeen?

tl;dr the fandom experience of carats has gotten worse overall since the hybe acquisition, and carats should be angry about it, regardless of if seventeen themselves seem to be doing well

[enriquemzn262]

I finally made it, on my last full day at the United States of America, I managed to visit a Bass Pro Shop! Man I’ve never seen so many guns before, and the ammo section at the Walmart I visited the other day just pails in comparison, so many rounds!

This place honestly made me wish I had an American citizenship, because man those guys were just so damn cool, and affordable too! But alas, my Colombia ass could only watch in awe.

I wanted to at least buy a gun replica, but through a lawyer uncle in Colombia I found out that even those get confiscated at the airport, because thanks to some new laws you need a special permit to import them, fucking bullshit man.

It was still a really fun time, man you Americans are lucky! Also, somehow, I was left with the feeling of getting into fishing.

But I’m not sure why tho.

[romancefranaticstay]

—(••÷[ 𝓢𝓮𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓰𝓪𝓲𝓷 ]÷••)—

Bangchan x fem!reader

Category: angst, fluff

A/N: made a one-shot from mine own sad experience's :(

Flashback

I am so happy i am first in line. I hope this Museum will be interesting, Titanic Expidition, very very interesting. My mom and dad are discussing something about taxe's and that stuff. My brother is listening to some weird music.

I am observing everyone, when suddenly someone come's standing in the other line. He had black hair and his lips are very big and plump. I am trying to observe him when he suddenly turns his head and stare's at me for a second. His eyes were shining and glinstering.

I am standing in the row from 11h and he in the row from 10h30. Guess i won't see him again, sadly. His row is going inside. He has some company with him, i guess it are his parents and his little sister. I am looking at the clock, its 10h40... so i need to wait for another 20 minutes.

<Time skip>

I am inside and i immediatly try to look for the boy. When i come inside i see him standing next to the replica from the Titanic. He was standing next to his mom. I am skipping some parts of the Museum just to get close to him. Also i am dragging mine father with me, because i am to scared to get lost.

<A little time skip>

We are making eye-contact the entire time, and he sometime's bumps into me. His arms touched mine back. I could litterly scream right now, but i won't, because we are in a museum. I observe him from afar. His eyes constantly locking with mine.

I am to scared to go up to him, but maybe i should, because the museum is almost over. We are at the last destination of the building.

<Some minutes later>

Mine parents are walking way to quickly through the museum, almost skipping everything. We are reaching the gift shop, but i am way to scared to go towards him, because he is standing next to his mom. And what if he doesn't like me back? Maybe i am delulu.

I am trying to go around the giftshop as slow as possible. Finally i see he is standing alone. So i think its mine time to give it a shot.

'Y/N, come, its time to go!' mine mom shouted

Oh no no no no, i don't want to go. My parents wanted to go eat, so they pleaded by mine ear to go. They dragged me outside the Museum.

I just wanted to look a last time in his eyes.

I am praying that this goodbye isn't forever.

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

10 YEARS LATER

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

You were now 24. Still single, as always. Never been into a relationships, since you promised yourself to only give your heart away to that mysterious boy.

Even tho it was ten years ago, you still thought about him. He was just special, you could call it love at first sight. You were thinking about him everyday. Just wondering where he could be now. Still hoping you could see him again, but not searching for it yourself.

Because if its true-love, you two shall meet again. Even tho after 10 years, you kind of stopped believing in it. You sometime's teared up of the fact you will never see him again.

You were sitting on a bench, scrolling through your phone. The trains were very loud and the people around you also. You decided to put on your headphone's, just to get a bit distracted.

Suddenly your eyes looked up to the right and you saw someone standing there, he was wearing headphone's. Suddenly your eyes met eachother. His eyes widen and you were frozen. You couldn't believe you found him again.

There were many people on the perron so you two lost sight of eachother, but this time you wouldn't let him slip away. You stood up and started to go towards him. It was very difficult because everyone was pushing eachother.

Also that mysterious boy, his name was Bangchan, started to look for you. The crowd tried to enter a train. You were still pushing people away when you felt someone's hand on your waist. That strong hand turned you around and you saw him.

It was night, so after that crowd entered the train, you two were left alone. He hugged you tightly.

<Never thought i would see you again.> he said, still hugging me.

You looked up to him, with your doll eyes. His gently grabbed your chin and brought it closer to his face. His face falling on your lips. He brought his lips towards yours and kissed you.

Your two tongues melting with eachother. Your arms embracing his neck to deepener the kiss. His hands exploring your body. His hands going to your back. You two stood there kissing for a while. Luckily there was nobody around.

<You aren't going to slip away from me this time, baby.>

<I won't, never leaving your side.>

He brought you again into a kiss, full with passion.

Some advice for all those girls who lost their prince/princess like mine.

If its true-love, you two will reconnect, have patient.

If faith doesn't reconnect you both again, it has a reason for it.

Your prince/princess is somewhere there outside, he/she will come by when the moment is right.

xoxo

Rachel

fourth of april 18:57-19:00

[destinysbounty]

Huh. I just dug up an old fan-theory i came up with back when i was like 15. And while its definitely way too weak to hold up against any real scrutiny, it at the very least makes for some mildly interesting fanfic fodder so i thought id share it with the greater fandom hivemind.

(Dont come at me about the holes in this theory btw, i was practically a baby when i came up with this and it was one of my first attempts at theory-crafting. Trust me, ive come a long way since then)

Anyway, the theory goes like this:

While in the lighthouse, Dr. Julien builds a replica of his son. But try as he might to get it to turn on, it never actually works. Whatever special spark brought the first Zane to life is inexplicably absent from this one. So he locks it away in his basement, and never gives it the light of day again. This is the reason Dr. Julien never told Zane about Echo, or brought him with them - because at the time, Echo wasnt even functional. Wouldnt even turn on. Was nothing more than a lifeless shell collecting rust in the basement.

So how, then, did Echo become sentient by season 6? Great question! But uhh heres where the theory kinda starts to go off the rails. So buckle up, folks.

Basically the theory goes that when Zane died at the end of s3, his soul still lingered in Ninjago. And his disembodied spirit eventually found itself drawn to a vessel that was similar to the one he'd lost - one his father had built yet long abandoned. But his new body lacked the memory storage contained within his old one, and his resurrection effectively gave him almost complete amnesia. All he could remember was his name and his purpose (to protect those who cannot protect themselves).

Meanwhile, when Titanium Zane says hes a replica, hes actually completely right about that. Some fragments of his code left behind from his visit to the Digiverse gained sentience and inherited Zane's elemental power, creating the Zane we know and love today.

But the original Zane, the one that died fighting the Overlord, actually ended up becoming Echo Zane. Which then would have explained why Zane had so many holes in his memories after being resurrected, and why his sixth sense became much less active as well - he was only made from fragments of the real Zane's code, after all.

Now, as the big smart grownup i am today, i can look back at this theory my baby self had crafted and poke about a million holes into it. But...idk, i always feel nostalgic about this theory in spite of all that. Not just bc it was one of my first fan theories ever, but also bc it would have such fascinating narrative implications if true.

Like, the idea of Mr. E being Echo? Well, if we apply that to the concept of Echo being the Original Zane, then his hatred for Current Zane takes on a whole new dimension. It also gives me a lot of emotions about the whole Ice Emperor situation, as well as Zane's apparent discomfort towards his own statue.

And what kind of position does that put the rest of the gang in? If they had to choose between saving one or the other - the Zane who died for you, or the Zane who lives for you - which one would they choose? Could they choose? How long do you have to love a replica before it starts to feel more authentic than the original? And in that case, who becomes the 'real' zane? The one you love, or the one you lost?

Again. This theory has more holes in it than the Titanic. Cut me some slack, i was an idiot child and also a novice at making theories. But giving credit where its due, i do think it at least raises some interesting concepts. And Ive always casually wondered what would happen if it turned out to be true.

Like i said. Fanfic fodder.

[brujitaadinbo]

I watched season 3 of The Mandalorian again and I still don't understand why there are people who speak so badly about chapter 6 (plazir15) Because of course it is a reference to the Clone Wars style; but also re-watching Blade Runner with Harrison Ford; It is a particular tribute to him. Especially in the scenarios, in the way Din and Bo are investigating the droids, (if you remember in Blade Runner, Deckar investigates and searches for the replicants in rebellion)

Here in The Mandalorian, those rebelled replicants were both the droids and the last separatists in existence.

The fact that "lust alley" had that cyberpunk Blade Runner feel; the bar with that particular name (La Resistencia) and that romance between a replica and someone human, "a romance that cannot be" It seems like a unique tribute to me and that many people who claim to be knowledgeable and who only talk trash about this episode, is because in reality they are pure uneducated people who have never seen Harrison's tremendous gem and who only criticize the episode because of Lizzo (Not that I I like that girl, but she did her job and that's it)

I can definitely appeal to the fact that this chapter had many references to cinema and the most famous and iconic cult series.

And it is really appreciated that Bryce Dallas is so knowledgeable and has been inspired by this material to achieve something unique.

There are also moments where I feel like I'm watching Secret Files x; one of my favorite retro series. I love her so much!!!

And I love that Din and Bo are the Mulder and Scully type couple. They definitely are; It can be noticed from a distance and even more so if you know the series and the characters.

Hopefully in The Mandalorian and Grogu movie we have at least one special moment between Din, Bo and Grogu. A Mulder and scully moment between Din and Bo. It would be great.

This is the way.

[kathaynesart]

Replica Holiday Special Winners!

Happy Holidays everyone! It's that time of year and you know what that means! Time to announce the winners for the DTIYS Replica Holiday Special Cover!

I received so many wonderful submissions. Far more than I had anticipated! They were all so unique and creative and it was an absolute joy to look at each and every one of them! I really underestimated however how difficult it would be to choose with them all being so unique from each other. In the end, I decided to gauge the top picks on how well their cover captured the "essence" of what this Special is going to be like! Without further ado, here are the winners.

HONORABLE MENTION - @matchstique

Buddy! I love this piece so dang much! It has so much character and perfectly displays the wacky hijinks we can expect as well as the huge amount of stress our poor boys are under during these trying, pregnancy times. The movement and colors work so well and make me excited for what comes next! Seldom do I see pregnant females shown as the badasses they are, but you have gone and turned Cassandra into an absolute icon with this piece! Bless you!

3RD PLACE - @thegunnsara

Sara, the shear amount of craft you put into your art is STAGGERING. Every scuff on Raph's shell and wisp of smoke screams of a quality I can only hope to attain someday. I literally want to be you when I grow up! That said, the concept of this piece is also fantastic. One of the things I'm must excited about for this Special is getting to see Raph and Casey as they were and witnessing the strong bond they share. I love them dearly and this cover captures their strength and tenacity so perfectly. Gods among men.

2ND PLACE - @cupcakeslushie

Slushie, this cover is so damn fun and dynamic that I can't stop looking at it! Your attention to detail and composition are masterful and the fact that you could fit such a bombastic battle into such a limited space speaks to how crazy talented you are! You also do a wonderful job of retaining both the intensity of the apocalypse but also that playful edge that Rise always manages to retain! It's definitely the cover that would catch my eye on a shelf and make me want to turn the page to see what happens next!

1ST PLACE - @abbeyofcyn

Cyn, the moment I saw this cover, I gasped! It's funny because this is both a piece I could have totally seen myself doing had I done the cover, yet crafted in a unique way I could have never come up with on my own! On top of that, this slick composition scratches my little designer brain juuust right. The use of the hands motif is such a great element because to me, it encapsulates the conflicting themes of family/parenthood with the drama of what it means to be human. On top of that, having each character as one of the digits both connected to and encircling Casey is such a wonderful touch that really drives the symbolism home. Somehow, you managed to peer into the future and perfectly capture how the finale of this special is going to feel. Thank you so much Cyn for such a wonderful piece!

~~~~~~~~~

Now that I think about it, looking back on these winners as a set, all four them actually do an amazing job as individual covers for each of the four "acts" that will make up this special. That was not at all my intention, but it kind of worked out perfectly for that. Gets me all emotional!

I also definitely want to put a spotlight on the other amazing submissions, many of which made it SO close to the top slots! I was going to post these pieces individually but I was worried people wouldn't then go to their blogs to view the covers, so instead have a compilation and links to the full versions! Please check out everyones amazing covers and give them some love. They all worked really hard and it means so much to me. Thank you everyone!

@dreamundraws - LINK @honeylief - LINK @gemini-forest - LINK @memorydarkness - LINK @skullythefriendlyskullface - LINK @v-albion - LINK @its-wabby-stuff - LINK @yris-latteyi - LINK @reagi-df - LINK @chaoscontrol50 - LINK / LINK @murasakibonnet - LINK @hitwiththetmnt - LINK @xandriagreat - LINK @karonkar - LINK @sunydays - LINK (sorry my dear, yours did not appear on my hashtag reference at first! D: But still love it!) @quailaz - LINK @delicatechildwitch - LINK

Thank you again all of you! You all did such an amazing job!

[thewildwaffle]

Earth Report 0016 - CPR

This is from a prompt from a user on aO3

***

As part of the medical and health-related topics in this section of reports, I would like to make a special report on the topic of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. I’ve covered several “first aid” topics in previous reports, and will likely cover more soon as I continue to study humans, but this particular technique stood out to me in a way that I knew I had to make a report dedicated solely to it. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR for short, is an emergency technique that can be performed on a human whose heart has stopped beating. Such a condition can be lethal for humans as they only have one centralized heart. The human heart is a fascinating organ. While strategically contracting and releasing different valves on average over 100,000 times a day, the human heart pumps nearly 3 solaric fluid plinks of blood every mentik. It is, without a doubt, made of some of the most tireless muslce tissue I've ever heard of. Historically, heart problems and diseases are the leading cause of death for humans. I realize that may surprise many. Out of all the crazy things humans do, get into, eat, etc. it’s their own vital organs that most often “do them in,” (a common human euphemism about death. See Report 0005 for more about euphemisms and idioms.) When a human’s heart stops beating, they enter what’s known as “cardiac arrest.” In such a state, their heart cannot pump blood to the rest of the body. For those who know even the basics about human anatomy, it is easy to see just how dangerous and life-threatening this is in only a matter of minutes.

In an effort to save the lives of others, humans of all ages and backgrounds are commonly given basic training in CPR. After ensuring trained professionals are alerted to the medical emergency at hand, checking for a pulse (or lack of), and making sure the afflicted human is flat on their back, the human administering CPR stacks their hands, fingers laced, on the sternum of the afflicted human and administers hand compressions with the sturdy base of their palms.

I’ve attended a training on CPR. The instructor demonstrated how to perform it on a replica human torso made out of rubber and plastic that they call a “dummy.”

If you are even remotely aware of how strong a human can be, you might have some idea of the shock I felt when the instructor told the class to use as much of their body weight as they could to compress the afflicted human’s chest at a depth of nearly 1-2 inches (7 solaric micronills)!

What this means is that the human administering CPR is pushing so hard that they are basically trying to squish the non-beating heart in a pulsing pattern to replicate its natural pumping action and get the heart itself to start beating again on its own.

And it’s not just that either. You have to remember that the heart, being a vital organ, is safely encased in the human’s ribcage. Does this stop them? Absolutely not. In fact, the instructor clearly stated that while performing CPR, if you hear a bone snap or crack, keep going. To quote her, “It’s better to have a broken rib and be alive than no broken bones and be dead.”

Of course, the instructor also gave advice on how to try to avoid fracturing the sternum or ribs, but said that due to the nature of CPR, it happens about 30% of the time.

Beyond beating the heart back to life, CPR also includes forcing air into the afflicted human’s lungs. This happens much less frequently than compressions, and it involves the administering human to get air into the afflicted’s lungs the only way they have available - from their own lungs. They pinch the other’s human’s nose shut, seal their lips over theirs and blow. Those familiar with human displays of affection (see report 0010) may mistake this as a “kiss,” and while it is sometimes called “the kiss of life,” it is far from affectionate in any way. If anything, one might say it is more of a battle, if the opponent of their battle were death itself.

They follow up with more heart compressions and repeat the pattern until emergency medical professionals arrive.

At the end of the demonstration I attended, the instructor commented on the speed of the compressions needed. She referenced two songs, which many in the class began humming to themselves immediately and continued to do so after class. One, I thought was in poor taste, entitled “Another One Bites the Dust.” For those unfamiliar with human idioms (again, see Report 0005) to bite the dust means to die. Seeing as that is the complete opposite outcome hoped for with CPR, I preferred the title of the other song, “Staying Alive.”

She instructed that those administering CPR should perform chest compressions to the beat of one of those songs, hoping that indeed, their fellow human would be “staying alive.”

May the stars above forbid that a human ever tries to perform CPR on me, (or that I'd ever be in a situation where I was incapacitated enough to look like I needed it). Though I think that would be a quick way to go. Thankfully, they do have specialized CPR procedures for their small children and infants, as well as pets and various animals. They all typically involve a lot less... bone-crunching heart squishes.

[aquilacalvitium]

who is this Nate?

Oh.

Oh, buddy.

Oh I get to talk about Natewantstobattle and you will regret this.

So! I'm not a NWTB expert so don't expect a full bulletpoint presentation BUT I can share my experience!

Natewantstobattle is a nerdcore turned original artist who made songs about video games, anime and cartoons for years and only recently (last year I think) decided to leave nerdcore behind and focus entirely on original music.

He's made some BANGER songs, has the voice of an angel and seems to have the same enthusiasm about dark/demonic fictional imagery as myself ^_^

He's made a lot of FNAF songs which is how I found him. His music got him noticed by Random Encounters (RE) who make small-budget indie musicals based on video games and decided to make a five-part special musical based on FNAF for which they reached out to get Nate involved. He appeared and sang as a prominent character in that musical as well as plenty of others that they made. Markiplier was also in that musical.

Nate is popular with a lot of Jacksepticeye and Markiplier fans as his content focuses on similar games, leading to the same people finding him. Because of that, the fans' habit of making characters or "egos" for youtubers from their videos also extended to Nate and honestly while I still listen to his music I haven't been active in the fandom for a while so I have no idea how many egos there are now, but I'm desperate to rejoin the fandom space and catch up!

Anyway, the egos I'm very well aware of are Natemare and Phantom.

Haha yeah, he kidnapped Matpat for that music video.

The video in question is for Mangled, a 2~ minute song based on FNAF 2. The character he portrayed was an instant hit with the fans and was subsequently dubbed "Natemare" as a play on nightmare.

Also in 2018 Nate released a limited edition Natemare shirt thus confirming the name as canon and also I have that shirt so cough cough.

Secondly, Phantom!

MAN I LOVE PHANTOM!

From a music video for a song of the same name.

As far as I'm aware there's practically no canonically confirmed information about him other than he makes deals and steals people's souls. That lead to a lot of fans calling him a demon, including myself.

It took me five years to put together a cosplay for Phantom because I couldn't find one part! You'd think it would be the staff, right? Impossible to find an exact replica, right? No. It was the bloody shirt. I couldn't find a single freaking long sleeve red button up shirt for YEARS. I've got it now, though.

His original albums so far include Sandcastle Kingdoms, Paid in Exposure and To Let Go. That one is actually currently coming out one song at a time on his YouTube channel and music streaming platforms. There's only two songs out at the moment and I think the plan was to release them slowly until they were all released by the time the album itself dropped, but it was announced last month that it's been brought forwards to the 18th! That's in FOUR DAYS!!!! The last song to come out was Forgotten on Tuesday which is the one you saw me blogging about. It slaps so fucking hard you have no idea.

If you want any personal recommendations for his music, my favourites of his original work are Phantom, Forgotten, All I See, Perfect by Design and Branded.

PIf you look up Phantom you may see it titled as a Hazbin Hotel song but actually it came out a good while before Hazbin Hotel did, he just realised how well the character of Phantom matched with Alastor from HH and released a remastered version with some of Alastor's voice lines over it.

My favourites of his nerdcore songs are Mangled, No More, Stay the Course, Time to Move on and Ask for More. That last one is about Food Wars. I don't even watch that show, that's just how good the song is.

Oh! As an addition that I almost forgot to talk about, he's also a voice actor! He's appeared in Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, he plays the main character in Luck and Logic and has appeared in multiple video games like Dream Daddy, Yandere Simulator and Monster Prom.