#this is based on another post i made but I'm too lazy to go find it lmao

[rocksanddeadflowers]

Jon, during college, going into a small coffee shop to order a drink: hi can I get a-

Martin, the barista who is a giant fan of the mechanisms and has seen them play live like three times already and has a minor crush on Jonny DeVille: are you Jonny DeVille?

Jon, his hands going up to his hips in pride: I- yes, yes I am :)

Martin, is visibly shaking from excitement desperate to ask for a photo but hates the idea of being an annoyance for asking: cOOL

[conanssummerchild]

lukewarm takes with conanssummerchild time ‼️

in solaricks when rick goes back to dimension C-137 he seems just about ready to start at least trying to move on from hunting prime, he admits that he can't find him and even goes on to tell "diane" about their grandkids

yet this is him less than a season later

so, what changed?

well, this, obviously:

not to mention how traumatic that episode must've been for rick in general, having to revisit his past like that, the diane ghost ai. well, rick makes it pretty clear he's not exactly thrilled to be alive

so think it's pretty safe to assume that this was the first step to the rick prime relapse, especially since we know he went back and managed to snag a killbot

one could also argue that rick wasn't ever really over it, so it took very little to push him back, and while i don't think he was over it either, he did seem to start to want to be, morty saying this:

was all it took for him to step away from the base, though it's likely he returned in another moment, but still, that could've been later on

okay, anyway, into the actual point of this post, i think rick took small steps into falling back into finding prime, because even when he seemed to want to be bettering himself things kept going wrong, so eventually he decided, what was the point?

this is how i see it:

obviously preceding solaricks we have rickternal friendshine of the spotless mort, which i'm not gonna go into too much detail on rn despite it being one of my fav lore episodes bcs i wanna look at post-solaricks (but for pre-solaricks rickmurai jack is also worth mentioning due to him having to revisit his backstory with the citadel which is very closely linked to his time looking for prime/killing ricks) but go ahead and check out this post by dirty-bear-rick-sanchez for the best explanation i've seen on it and its effect on rick

anyway, so just 2 episodes after solaricks we have bethic twinstinct, and i've gone into this in a past post how this might have taken him back to his past so i'm just gonna copy paste it from my other post (summarised) bcs im lazy:

a lot of ppl theorise rick and prime knew eachother before he offered him the portal gun so if thats true what if beth and space beth reminded him of them and how he was (hypothetically) cheating on diane and then lost her forever at the hands of the man he was having an affair with and also lost his beth

which is why rick said "remember, its not just your ice cream you're forgetting, it's your family's" or smth. because he forgot his familys ice cream too much, and all that happened

also look at all the similarities between prime and SB's outfits

then 5 episodes after that we have analyse piss, where we see that rick relates to pissmaster, sympathises with him

i will never not reccomend this fic by abed-with-a-knife about how rick was taken back to his own struggles with suicide and such, but it's not only that, so many features of pissmaster's experience are things rick can relate to, his rocky relationship with his daughter, everyone hating him, i think in general it's pretty clear that this episode was made to link rick and pissmaster

anyway, the next episode after analyse piss is immediately a rick in king mortur's mort, and this is quite clearly rick's breaking point, obviously we know this is when he replaces himself with rickbot, following this scene:

rick tells morty not to take the sword and morty doesn't listen

morty says rick's boring and calls him a "drunk cranky fuck" which does seem to bother rick

despite him shitting on a similar insult in the previous episode

in ricktional mortpoons rickmas mortcation, the following episode, he says the reason he replaced himself was because of this, because he feels like morty doesn't respect him any more, and that:

so first the show wears away at his friendships and his past trauma and self hatred with rfotsm, rickmurai jack goes even further into his past, his relation with the citadel, his "crybaby backstory", etc.

then solaricks forces him to confront his past, specifically his relationship with diane and accept his future and his new family, while giving him a small clue to prime.

then bethic twinstinct, provided he and prime really did know eachother previously (which im a little on the fence on if i'm honest), reminds him of his guilt for diane and little beth dying and how he feels responsible for it by mirroring the situation with older beth and the "edgier" version of herself. after that, analyse piss continues to dig into his current relationship with a beth that isn't his own, and takes a shot at his suicidal tendancies and how he feels like "god hates him" or the universe is against him or whatever.

and lastly akikmm takes all of that that rick is already carrying on his shoulders and adds morty not respecting him or caring about him to it, and it clearly cause rick to finally snap. if all of this was building and the only thing keeping rick afloat was his codependant relationship with morty (as seen in solaricks when morty gets him to not go after prime just by showing his care) then morty (by no fault of his own) seeming to dismiss rick must make him think "what's the point anymore?" if no one cares about him, then he might as well complete his life-long revenge plot, even if it destroys him again

because no one cares about him, right? (dramatic old fuck, get him psycological help)

anyway it's almost 2am so my thoughts aren't as coherent as i would like and i'm too lazy to read over this post and check if everything is right and good

most of what i've said in this post is probably pretty obvious, i just wanted to lay it out neatly with images and everything (im so classy ik /j) it accidentally came out a LOT longer than i intended. what can i say i just love yapping on about rnm

[lilly-onthevalley]

Tips for my girlies in university and early work

I decided to make this post based on what has made my life easier these past few years. Every woman wants to cultivate beauty; make themselves put together, be taken seriously, and find a partner who is equally yoked if you're into that. As an old tumblr girl shifting in and out of the scene, I wanted to make another tip post like the old times that's accurate to what helped me.

A lot of the older/retired girlie's where amazing advisors, however one thing that created a barrier was that they were were endowed with large wealth and their society paved a path for them, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, I love to see it actually. I wanted to make a post looking back to what has helped me make my own steps to now be able to utilise the old girl's advice as it was supposed to.

Hair

Learning a basic blow out is necessary. If you're starting out, you don't need all of the fancy brands, and you'll notice that technique is what differentiates the quality of a blowout. Get a good round brush that conducts heat well, mid range but reliable (Babyliss) blow driers, flat irons, and curling rod. Invest in a heat protectant too. Sweet talk the hair dressers and ask where they get their stock from. Get yours hands on some pro hair sheers to get your own trims and layers going.

Silk scrunchies and pillow cases are an underrated and feminine must-have. I'm a lazy girl who always has a silk press if my hair is out and I can get away with collapsing onto a silk pillowcase with no head wrap and still manage to have a lovely style in the morning. I would say order these from a small business. Many girls have businesses dealing with small textile projects like scrunchie packs and average size pillow cases, support them! :)

Learn to do your own cornrows and invest in a half wig especially if you're busy with classes and don't have time for the whole round brush ordeal.

Don't be scared of wigs, and don't be ashamed of not having enough time to pull off a dazzling natural masterpiece. There's a reason why wigs are in high demand from women of all races. People are all over busy. You can start with a natural synthetic and move on to better hair.

I learnt the art of hair when I was 15, so I've been doing it for a while. However, because of this, I can tell you the importance of having a lovely crown on your head. I have received hundreds (not joking) of compliments from years, whether my hair was real or fake, and that shows how important it is for a first impression.

Nails/Feet

Don't forget to take care of them. Walking all the miles, wearing the mandated courts, sitting in one place. You will indeed develop calluses, perhaps even athletes' foot and hyperpigmentation from a lack of circulation.

Get yourself a basic pumice stone or a scrubber and use them when need. Massage yourself as well to maintain mobility and flexibility.

If you can, get yourself an affordable gel set. It might seem a bit expensive, but it'll save you the time and money of the upwardly costly nail appointments. You'll find out when you get up and socialise more that what tops the cake of classy is a glossy basic nail. Natural nudes and whites are always a go to.

Scent

Scent connoisseurs are going to absolutely hate me for this, but girlie's, if you can't get that Jean Paul Gaultier or Baccarat Rouge, get the damn arabic fragrance. Back in high-school when me and my girls were starting up, setting ourselves apart and getting invited to important places, Lattafa was our favourite. Social media is currently finally going crazy for them. (The African/Arab girls got them first 🤭.) I loved my floral Haayati with a mix of Zakra (other brand, heavy masculine oud tones for my peace of mind), and my best girl loved her gourmand Yara and her vanilla oils.

I love to talk about fragrance because it talks first for you. Nothing is better than a delicious light smell accompanying your presence. It shows you hold yourself to some esteem.

Skin

Face Essentials - gua sha stone, gentle cleanser, exfoliating cleanser or serum, sunscreen, thick moisturising butter, anti fungal or bacterial essential oil, lip moisturiser, clean cloth.

These will help you start out on a basic level to having healthy looking skin. Exfoliating is very important towards a glow. When you're stuck working with a bright light in your face, soaking up the harsh morning air full of car exhaust, sweating as the hours go by - what will make the difference is making sure that you get rid of that excess dead skin every 3-7 days.

Gua sha is amazing for getting rid of the stress if you clench your jaw during moments of stress. Say you have to present an assignment or address and debate a crowd, that takes a tole on the jaw and the facial muscles. Using a gua sha is great for ironing those knots and that tension out.

On the topic of massage, spas can be unaffordable at times, time is could also be a problem. Get into a habit of using every minute you have. That 5 minutes that you sit and doom scroll on tik tok, take out a wood tool, grab a moisturiser, and press those muscles to release built-up tension. Taking care of the vehicle you have is so important. Your body and mind are separate but complimentary. Take care of her, and she will take care of you. Don't forget that every second, she's pumping the blood that facilitates your social meetings and work hours.

When it comes to body, get yourself exfoliating mits or an abrasive rag. Once again, exfoliation, exfoliation, exfoliating. It's great for blood flow and circulation as well as moving your muscles and tissues that may be constantly seditary from a desk.

Dry brushing is something I also swear by. Once again, absolutely wonderful for circulation and waking the skin up.

Get yourself a foam roller... I press such an emphasis on these tools that stimulate the muscles because we often forget how much our bodies are taking multiple hits from working. Joint issues are something that's prevalent when you're a working girl, coming straight out of high-school and going into the world outside the home of your care taker. Roll those legs out, release that back into the grooves. It makes a world of difference!

Clothing

I loved to dress like a blank canvas back in my early days when I decided I want to make something of myself. Nothing beats good denim pants and a white t-shirt. Especially when you're starting out and want to begin establishing outfits for everyday, you'll notice the blank canvas approach will prevent you from looking crazy on crazy days. Stock up on 3 white tees, white and blue jeans, yoga pants, well fitting good quality skin tone lingerie, a belt, a watch, some fake pearls, black or white dress, a ring and a necklace and my all time favourite, a pair of shades.

Ugh, I can't get enough of combinations like this. I grew up and was educated by women who followed this but fancied it up with a bold Goyard St Louis, a 3 stone engagement ring with a gold band, a local pure and heavy polished silver bracelet and some Loro Pianas. Absolutely gorgeous women, who knew how to constantly present themselves as nothing less than reliable, stylish and beautiful.

You might say that, 'Omg Lilly, that's so boring', that's not the point here 😂. As a green girl with a good head on your shoulders, you're going to get a lot of new opportunities. Whether it's internships, parties, socials with the girls or the guys, dates, fund raisers, club representative workshops, you're going to be expected to show up well and put together. Say you have a social evening at a club house, in the morning you have an internship and the next day you have to manage and represent your society. Those 3 white shirts paired with a rotation of basic bottoms and versatile shoes will make things a lot easier for you especially if you're starting out in a foreign country where you don't know what is to be worn exactly.

Makeup

Those who have known me are well aware that I'm a retired goth girl and was killing it with the cut crease and James Charles tutorials back in the day. Makeup is something that has seamlessly became part of my life. Unfortunately or fortunately, I grew out of that creative phase and started wondering what actually makes my natural features and face pop. What presents me as healthy, bright, and hyper-feminine (in contrast to the basic clothing)

I came up with the recipe of 'Biology' makeup. Blush because it signifies healthy blood flow and interest in the person you're interacting with. Healthy full eyebrows, non-matte evenly toned skin with naturally bronzed dimensions. A healthy hydrated pink lip. Some extras are a little liner to enhance the eye, flirty lashes from carefully applied mascara and/or lashes and some depth and glitter to draw attention at the eyes.

Very basic, very safe, very attractive, very reliable. This is a routine that can be executed within 8 minutes.

Moisturiser -> sunscreen base -> full coverage foundation or concealer watered down with sunscreen to make it more glowy and allow the natural dimensions of the face to peer through->bronzer/darker powder-> semi heavy blush combined with some loose banana powder to calm down the concelar-> light wing-> lashes-> wipe the lips and eyebrows-> fill both in and end with a natural colour applied to both.

Inspo below

E.T.C

Other important notes:

Yoga, cardio and pilates to maintain mobility, lubricate those joints, crack those bones back into place. Sweat is amazing to get those toxins, lose a bit of unnecessary weight, blow off steam, improve skin health, get your blood pumping and much more.

Save your money, all these things are meant to make life simpler for you so you are in a place where you are investing into things that are truly important like rent, food, tuition, remittances, dental work, medical aid, insurance, etc till you have someone who could assist with that :)

Remember to keep a balanced diet. Oh lord, when I went out to a new country, thank god I was young, but I became close friends with the local McDonald's and knew all of the door dash delivery men by name. Please, for the love of God, buy your fresh food and meal prep. The temptation is so real after a long night, to drop a bunch of pounds or euros on a quarter pounder and some zinger wings but it will not nourish you to survive another active day with decent cognition and drive. Especially if you were living alone and stressing out about making your own path, don't feed the delivery demon. You'll lose useful money, and mess your hormones up.

Instead to reward yourself, buy your place some flowers. If you want to eat go to a restaurant which serves whole food. Buy some new fancy stationery, party, get a spa or cosmetic treatment that you've been wanting, travel or take a train to somewhere scenic! Perhaps I'm too harsh but addiction to quick fixes is real when you first drop into a state of independence whether it's financially or physically. Don't abuse it by splurging. Understand moderation through strict monitoring then after a while, go get that Wingstop or whatever after knowing how to access real food and that it's an affordable and doable option first! (me and my guy friends literally never ate any real food for a month straight while gallivanting in Europe because we were so codependent on Taco Bell and used our lack of knowledge of the city as an excuse to take the easy way out 🤣.)

If you can do something really well, make a mini business out of it.

Network, network, network. Ask questions, ask for opportunities, get numbers and business cards.

Self defense starter kit (Google it according to the laws of your nation)

Lastly, make friends, call family, volunteer at an animal shelter every now and then to remind you of what love is 😂 because in the fast paced assimilation into new environments, you do forget and only notice when suddenly you're sadder than usual, and have anxiety during basic interactions.

⭐️

[madbalalaika]

Your pirates of the Caribbean fanart is so beautiful! Please, please share tips for how to do that beautiful painting technique you used! <3

Hi, anon! Thank you so much, both for the compliment, and for the question💗✨

Edit: I've reached the 30 pics per post limit and will have to make a part 2, oopsie daisies. But I'm sure it won't be as long as this :"D

In terms of technique, I guess it depends which part exactly you're talking about, because most of it is just oil painting+pencil drawing made digital, where I sort of block my colours first, then blend as I see fit (or in some parts don't blend at all, which is what some classical painters do; it's really just habits and preferences from years of experience) and add details using a pencil brush.

If you're interested, stay tuned as I try and give some tips while showing my whole process using this lovely photo of Commodore as an example:

Part 1. The basics

I usually only use these 2 brushes, just because I like them a lot, rarely more than that; and I've changed the settings on the second one so it rotates in the direction of a stroke instead of being at a fixed angle.

SO, firstly I just make a sketch of course, then make a very rough base colour layer underneath it, not too dark, not too light, and fill in the background with a solid colour.

(don't be fooled, I don't actually name my layers cause I'm way too lazy for that)

Since we're talking about digital painting here, my biggest tip would be to make a habit of picking the right colours manually, like you would an for an actual oil painting, instead of using the eyedropper tool on the source. Colour matching is an insanely useful skill, it's like relative pitch in music, or an accurate eye in architecture; while it's not absolutely necessary to have it, you'll want it if you want less burden on your brain and more freedom of expression. "Learn the rules to learn to break them" kind of thing (and you'll be able to match the colours to the picture in your head as well, how cool is that? Hehe) I've done this so much that at this point I just do it for the hell of it. It's very fun :D And, as you might've guessed, I do it for the entirety of the process, with some rare exceptions. While I used to do so in the past, I don't like to use blending modes (eg. soft light, overlay, multiply, etc.) for shading anymore. I find it takes all the excitement out of the whole process for the sake of cheap dopamine, and it used to hinder my skill development because I wasn't learning to "speak the language" of art, I just "used google translate", so to speak.

Anyways... A sketch, then a rough midtone colour layer underneath + background:

Another great tip: I learned it from a video on good costume design in fantasy, which is so unrelated to painting that you're probably like "wha- what..?", BUT... the tip was "the costumes don't have to be historically accurate, they just have to make sense in the story". Your colours don't have to match your reference perfectly, they just have to make sense inside the painting, and that's what will make your art feel alive (along with other things ofc).

Next I create another layer on top of all that and get to actually paint, and this is where the blocking part comes in.

There is a really good video on this subject if you want to learn this kind of technique, and an Instagram page of a different artist that I've been immensely admiring for some time now. Although now that I think about it, neither of them use midtones as a base... Anyway,

I start with the darkest shadows, moving on towards lighter ones, noting some places where the they reflect more blueish/grayish tones of his uniform on his neck and jawline, and where they reflect the reddish environment on his nose, temple, cheek, ear, and neck.

Another great artist to help improve lighting skills.

I frequently make new layers on top of everything as I go, just so that I have some room for error and can delete them later if I'm not satisfied, and then merge them down if I am, because I hate being indecisive with too many changes, and having unnecessary clutter.

Sometimes if I don't like how a certain colour looks on the painting, I undo the stroke (or paint on top, if it's too late to undo) and just tweak it on the wheel until it looks right to my eye and move on. Eg. on the next screenshot, I didn't like how that blue from the sketch looked one the screenshot before, so I adjusted it a little with Hue/Saturation.

I also like to slightly exaggerate the palette so that it looks a bit more interesting:

The last thing I usually do is light, with tiny highlights being the absolute last, because both are very easy to overdo. I manually pick the colour from the colour wheel, make a few strokes where it's supposed to be the brightest, and then use eyedropper tool to sample different spots from the freshly-painted areas to make it easier to blend.

Now while that colour might look pretty light, it isn't light at all. To be fair, the difference between light and shadow isn't even that big sometimes. I used to overshoot with either of them in the past, picking either too light or too dark, and was frustrated and baffled why my painting was looking as shit as it was.

So I guess another tip: for lights, pick the colour much closer to your midtone than you think you need, and then adjust accordingly. The reason being: your eyes and brain are partners in crime and are constantly lying to you.

The (I guess second) base is done, and at this point, it's just a matter of staring at his face for 2, or however long, hours and adding more and more strokes, sampling different spots between them, until I like how it looks.

Sometimes, if I realize that either the proportions are a bit off or some lines don't look the way they're supposed to, I use some Photoshop tools to my advantage. I merge everything together (cause at this point I really don't plan on changing the sketch itself or the background), and use Liquify to move things around. So now it's a one-layer painting, just like the real deal lol

And then I continue doing the same thing I'd done before with all the other parts.

Liquify on his face:

I only lightly paint over most sketch lines because I'm really not that concerned about some of them peeking out, especially at this stage, nor am I very pedantic.

Don't forget about subsurface scattering in areas where light meets shadow, of course:

If I see a place like this where I need a smooth gradient but don't feel like actually doing it cause it'll ruin the ~vibe~, and really, I just wanna add more a bit more pizzazz, I just take the pencil brush and hatch over it instead, alternating the darker and the lighter tones.

The caravat:

A lot of the time professional artists will advise you to look for simple shapes in things - squares, circles, triangles, rhombuses, etc. I'm no exception. Simple shapes will let you see patterns and some sort of order. It's easier to understand complex shapes that way, whether it be fabric, faces/bodies, or inanimate objects.

As you can see here, my brain mostly likes to look for triangles, or half-circles. It just feels right 👌

The wig:

I learned to use translucency, with hair and light fabrics fading into background, from watching and doing watercolour. Here's one of my all-time favourite watercolour artists that does that sometimes, and it looks absolutely stunning: 미술부화실 misulbu

The waistcoat and the jacket:

The hat:

Another thing to point out, if you haven't noticed already, I really like my stokes straight unlike myself, with exceptions, of course. It's another habit I picked up from watching other people draw, as well as my years of studying art professionally. Teachers taught me to use straight criss-crossing hatches to indicate form, instead of curved ones (there was a really cool tiktok showing that kind of technique, but I can't find it :(). Not that I follow their advice in its intended way majority of the time lololol but um... yeah...

So anyway, this is the end of part 1, I'll try to finish the second part tomorrow. It will be about smaller details, texture, and an tiiiny bit of 🔥grime🔥

[konaiiro]

★ Art Tag ★

thanks for tagging me to play @doshiart @spookygingerr @michellemisfit

Have you always been interested in creating art? Kinda? No? Not sure. I think I've always been interested in art in the 'wow, thats cool' way, not really creating though.

What's your favourite medium to use? If digital, what programs do you like? I taught myself to draw on digital (wacom intus medium i still use) and have the free program firealpaca - im too lazy to change now. I've owned sketchbooks to take with me and it's good but I don't think I'll ever really get over not having the command + z tool.

Do you create outside of fandom? A little, I've got ocs who I draw occasionally.

Share something you haven't finished and/or never got around to posting OH so many, its not funny. But here's a more recent piece which was initially for AFTG pride zine. It was so good, I just couldn't make it work for WEEKS. I ended up switching up and doing something else.

Favourite piece you've made? OH well, i've got a few but this would be my pick for 'konaiiro wrapped'.

Draw your icon in a minute or less - pass!! :,)

An underrated piece you've made in your opinion

you lads slept on this one (forced to screenshot from instagram bc its old and i can't find the file and, as established, im lazy). So much wrong with it and yet i fuck with the vibes and texture and expression and pose- UGH

Do you do art in a professional setting? No, not really. I've done comms in the past and I was going to go do animation in uni, but found that i like to keep my creating up to me. I would be open to run comms again, but under a different structure I think.

A piece you don't like but did really well on social media

yall flocked over these two idk. i like them enough just,, i'm so aware about all the mistakes lmao.

Post an old piece and compare it to your most recent, what are the similarites? I've done some redraws so NOW is a perfect time.

Ian and Mandy (March 2022 vs September 2024)

i think from a creation perspective, i know my base lineart is much cleaner and rendered.

Background is,, actually there lmao. It kicked my ass to draw but it happened.

Style has changed a tonne to more realistic (?), proportions are less all over the place.

effects are just better

I can actually draw hands huzzah!

They actually have a skin tone (+freckless!!)

Have you ever collaborated with another artist/s?

Yeah! A tonne; for events, challenges, zines, charity art calendars (hint hint aftg 2025 calender sales end 31st of Oct, all profits go to help those access gender affirming care.)

What piece has the most notes? Are you surprised?

I've been active on tumblr from around the start of the year, but I think its this one?

Who/What is your favourite subject matter?

honestly i think my blog name summarises better than I ever could.

Show us something not from fandom you've made

old oc art

Where do you like to create?

Desk in my bedroom! I like facing my window so I can look out like some tortured artist when my eyes need a break.

Give yourself a shoutout, where can we commission/buy/follow you for more pieces?

I'm on twitter, tumblr, instagram all are @konaiiro !!

Any mutuals, if you've made it this far, this is me tagging you lmao

[fishnapple]

Hello love 💕

Your blog literally introduced me to lithomancy and I've been interested in trying since. I practice divination myself and I really resonated with the type of reading you do,

I was wondering how you learned/practiced it and what resources you used to study

Thank you in advance and have a blessed day 💕 💕

Hi, I'm so happy that you're interested in this art, it's not very well-known like the other types of divination. I will highlight some of the essential points of Lithomancy here, hope that it can help you in some way 🌼

HOW DID I START?

Thanks to the power of friendships and dreams lol.

I've had an on and off relationship with Lithomancy for the past 10 years. I was first introduced to this art by a friend. I would read Tarot for her and she would read crystal for me. At that time, I tried to dabble in it a little but didn't connect well with it. Likely due to my lack of knowledge and the right timing.

Then, last year, the year of my Saturn return, I had a dream about going to a shop selling handmade crafts and crystals with my nephew (you could say that he was the embodiment of my inner child in the dream). Not long after that, another friend of mine brought me to an actual crystal shop where I bought my first set of crystals and began to seriously study and practice Lithomancy.

The content is rather long so I put in a "keep reading" to shorten to post. Please click "keep reading" to continue below.

TOOL & MATERIALS:

1. The book:

The only learning resource I had was from the book Lithomancy: the psychic art of reading stones by Gary L. Wimmer and from watching my friend do the readings. The book was a good starter, the author explains several key concepts that are essential for reading stones.

2. The stones:

In the past, I used sea shells, pebbles and even clay to substitute for the crystals. The things I used were beautiful, but it didn't feel right, some were too heavy while others too light. Seeing them together raised no emotion or insight in me.

Only until last year, when I went into a crystal shop for the first time and bought a set of crystals, did I feel a connection to the stones. I chose the crystals purely by hunches with near zero knowledge about the meaning of each crystal. It was like a blind casting, you only saw the candidates but you didn't know anything about them and you didn't see their performance beforehand. You just picked based on their looks lol.

Not to say that you have to use crystals to read, it might depend on each person's aesthetic, way of pattern recognising and interpreting. For me, colourful crystals help me see the connection, the interaction better, you just need to find whatever work for you. Heck, I even made a random chart generator on Excel to read at some point.

There's no fixed number for the stones nor rules for choosing which stone for what. But in general, you would want to choose something with the size that can fit a dozen nicely in one palm of your hand, and with distinct shapes. Avoid rough crystal because they can fragmented easily after numerous tossing.

3. The surface:

Any surface smooth and even enough to allow the stones to fall on without excessive tumbling, the background colour should allow you to see the stones clearly and doesn't give your eyes fatigue after staring at for too long.

In the book, the circle was form by a strip of leather, lace or some similar material with a knot tying the two ends together. I was lazy so I just drew the circle on the fabric lol.

THE READING:

Unlike some other divination methods, which have certain rules of interpretation and meaning that you should follow. Lithomancy is quite free-form. There's lots of rooms for improvisation and creativity.

The method I use for reading is based loosely on the guide in the book with lots of personal modifications. I read the stones like how I read an astrological chart with each stone represents a planet plus other meanings (10 stones for Sun ~ Pluto, 2 for South and North node, 1 for Inner child, 1 for Fear, 1 for Life). The circle is divided into 12 sections, representing 12 houses.

Another time, I use a different set and assign a completely different set of meanings to read for specific topics. You can tailor the stones, the layout to your need freely, as long as you can connect with them on an intuitive level.

In short, it's all about how you assign the meaning to each stone and read the interaction, the relationship between them. Very much like watching a play, a movie where characters interact with each other in different scenes and you get the messages through them.

Well, that's the general idea of crystal reading, if you have more questions or any other insights, feel free to share, I'd love to chat. 💓🐋

[fishrights69]

My Top 5 GARBAGE fish that suck

Here we go again. After receiving a very high ammount of notes!! (61 UwU) on the last fish list, here's another top 5 no one asked for. I've tried to use the reasoning of ''all fish are good'' but let's be honest, we'd be better off without these. 5. Monkfish🙏

So these things are weird as hell. Their ugliness alone landed them on this list. Not only are they ugly as shit, but they're also mean motherfuckers that eat basically anything. They like to cover themselves in mud and just chill there until something crosses their path which imo is fucking lazy. Some people do eat them as a delicacy apparently(ew?). Props to them for getting over the looks. Ugly/10 5/10 for laziness 4.Hairy Frog Fish💇‍♀️

If you wonder wtf are you looking at, this fish is the living embodiment of that feeling you get when you find hair in your food. This girlie loves to swallow as it's mouth can open to make space for fish almost twice her size so don't go sitting too close 💦 Still, it doesn't take away from the fact that she looks like a mistake. 4/10 appearance 8/10 for the deep throating skills 3. Goblin Shark 👺

First of all, these sharks look like if someone designed a fish based on a child's drawing of a shark. Instead of going the terrifying route and choosing one of these pictures, I opted for a derpy yet still creepy photo. Besides being quite good at ambushing prey, these dudes still tend to eat man made garbage which further argues their position on ''the garbage fish top5™''. They also are basically living fossils since they're old af and most of their body is atrophied. 3/10 appearance 6/10 for still living so long despite everything.

2.Bony-Eared Assfish🍑

This fish is for all ass obsessed fuckers. Grilling this baby and enjoying it counts as eating ass. Some cool facts about him: -The bony-eared assfish has the smallest brain-to-body weight ratio out of all vertebrates. -Assfish are soft and flabby with a light skeleton (so like a real ass) As for personality, they are not what I'd call assholes. They are quite sluggish as they prefer to sort of flap around with short bursts of energy instead of swim. They don't do much besides that which makes them a very underwhelming fish despite the sexy name :( Apparently they were given this name to make up for how utterly boring they are. 2/10 appearance 1/10 Interest in them or what they are good for (spoiler, nothing)

If you're a fish enthusiast, you probably know what's coming at nr.1 🥁 🥁 1. Ocean Sunfish☀️

There are far, faar too many reasons for this fish to be on the first spot. Not only are they the dumbest fish in the whole world, but they also are not good swimmers AT ALL (wtf is with these poorly designed fish who cannot swim??). Scientists are still perplexed at how this fish continues to stay alive. If you want more shitty facts about them, here's a link to a very famous post trashing these bitches. BUT, I have my very own reason to hate the sunfish. One cursed morning, I decided to go get educated about animals and visit Naturalis, a museum in Leiden, The Netherlands. I was having a blast looking at all the beautiful animals showcased, along with the cool facts and atmosphere. I excitedly get to the aquatic creatures floor and mesmerised, I try to take in all the beauty. At the long corridor nearing the exit, I look around admiring the fish that were displayed. Thinking I had seen it all, I move further when I turn a corner and out of nowhere.. . . . . . . . BAM

this GIANT motherfucker, hidden in a corner makes it's presence known. I'm not kidding when I say this thing is huge. Here's a picture of the replica from another angle for size reference. As you can guess, I was legit extremely spooked and actually screamed. :( 0/10 appearence 0/10 fuck this thing. useless and it gave me a heart attack

BONUS: I'm sorry but I think I've tortured myself and you enough, so to make up for it, here's a cute fishy instead: (take him)

Alright thanks for reading and follow for more fish content. Suggest me some more top5's I could do, be it fish related, or whatever your mind decides to curse me with. Still need to cleanse yours eyes? My top 5 coolest fish

[jessiarts]

I posted this in an art discord & they said it should be a post so others (both non-artists & artists) could see it too, so I'm pasting it here with a just few edits to add context:

Having feelings about capitalism and art.

Like, got an unexpected Redbubble sale today. Unexpected because I genuinely never expected to see another after I took some advice and did the whole "raise your margins to 50% in protest so people will use Redbubble less because 'prices are too high'" (For those unaware, Redbubble is introducing a tier structure for artist accounts, where Redbubble will now be taking up to 50% of an artist's monthly earnings as an "account fee" if they end up in the "Standard" tier. Artists are upset about this and are finding various ways to protest the change.)

And it got me thinking about margins, and what it takes to run the company, and how much CEO's take home and just-

Ok so say base price for a product is $10. If your margin is 20% it sells for $12 and you take home $2. Redbubble takes 80%, and uses that to buy materials/print/pay workers. Ok, no argument. I want workers to be fairly compensated.

But you look it up, and the highest paid Redbubble executive makes $950,000 a year. Average executive salary is around $235,000 a year. You can't really find the info for the positions of workers (meaning those who labor to print the products) only that "the lowest compensated makes $34,000" -aka roughly $16 an hour at 40hrs a week. And good on them for paying the workers a decent wage if this info is correct. Hope they keep it up. Or pay them more even.

But then I keep coming back to the fact that the company needs the artists' work to even exist. So why, if the CEO is making nearly a million dollars a year and the company obviously isn't hurting for any money to compensate it's workers or run itself, why does everyone make artists feel greedy just for asking to not have our cut eaten into with added fees? Why are we made to feel bad if we express any disappointment that a CEO makes so much money off the designs of so many artists in comparison to the artists' cut?

Idk how to say it right. It's like we're just expected to collectively fork over our work, let someone else get obscenely rich off it while we make barely anything from it (or in the case of many social media platforms, make literally nothing from it), then then smile about it. Anything else is seen as artists being entitled or 'lazy' or idk what else.

Or we're told to "just raise your margins" like competitive pricing isn't a thing that exists. Not to mention that fact that whenever prices do go up, especially with art, those same people complain that the prices went up and look for something cheaper.

I always see people saying that artists are just jealous that they don't make more sales, or saying "well maybe you'd make more if your art was better" but they're completely missing the whole point that is: Maybe if a company literally depends on the creative 'content' of individuals to exist/profit, maybe don't treat them all as disposable?

[steamyearlgray]

How I bound my fic

Disclaimer. I watched like three you tube videos (one of which is here) and this is like my fourth or fifth time that I've bound anything. I don't think I'm doing things correctly and in those steps I will be pointing that out.

This is going to be long so I'm going to tuck the rest under the cut.

Formatting your text block.

I spent so long working on my text block(s). It got easier with each one I did. I work in MS office.

My page size is set to 8.5" by 5.5" because that is half the size of a standard piece of printer paper. I put the margins on the smallest possible because the site I use to organize the pages into signatures tends to add a bit of a margin.

I use this to make my signatures. I got this original link from a reddit post about book binding. (I thought I had a link to it but I can't seem to find it.) I tend to have my signatures made with 16 pages, which is 4 sheets of paper. You'll need to make an account (it's free) and make a copy of this project to add your own pdfs to. It automatically puts them in order and the pages on the same sheet of paper.

You'll want to print your pages double sided. I use the base setting for my printer (because when I fucked with it they came out wrong) so you might want to test print a signature before making your printer run a full copy.

"I have all my pages printed. Now what?"

Folding, punching, and sewing your text block.

It's exactly what it sounds like. Fold all of your signatures. I like to use the back of a sharpie to get a nice crease on the spine edge (and to save my fingers the pain).

I use this handy guide and the awl that came with it now, but the process can be completed by making a guide on a piece of paper and punching holes with a thumbtack or straight pin.

Once that's done it's time to sew. I have no clue what the stitch I use is called. I just made it up as I went along and it turned out pretty.

the edge stitches (after coming back to the edge of the spine) get slipped between the last two signatures. I think this is a French stitch? no clue. Then the short ones loop back through the last stitch once while the long ones go through the last twice. makes a pretty ladder. (did I mention I know basically nothing about binding or how to make text instructions?)

Glue is your friend. Not your enemy.

SO this first picture is everything I use to case in my text block.

Use a thin line of glue to attach your end pages. I have to cut mine down to the correct size and I use a small paper cutter because I can't cut a straight line to save my life.

Then basically smoosh your text block under some heavy books or put it a book press. Paint the spine with a lot of glue. like multiple coats.

Go ahead and add your headband and a ribbon if you want a bookmark built in.

(also most people use a cloth on the spine but I keep forgetting to buy that so I use scraps from my end papers to cover the spine. I know this isn't the correct way but it's worked out somewhat okay for me.)

I'm glad I didn't fuck up with a box cutter.

So I've got some shitty math scribbled on a piece of paper for you guys.

you want to add 1/4 of an inch (or 6mm) to the length of your cover board. (5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches becomes 5 1/2 x 8 3/4 inches).

The spine is the width of spine + 1 board. I use a chip board that was sold near the cricuts in Michael's currently but I have used card board in the past.

Trace measurements, cut. I precut with my paper cutter then go the rest of the way with my box cutter.

Space hinges.

I use a little hinge spacer I found on amazon. People 3d print them too and sell them on etsy or you can cut another piece of chipboard for this.

my hinges are 5mm and honestly... I'd probably go bigger if I could. I'm just too lazy and want to work with what I've got.

Biggest tip. Use painter's tape to test fit your hinges. I fucked up tho and used an automotive painters tape and it wouldn't come off.

Gluing everything together.

I wrap my cover boards in a card stock and use book cloth on the spine. I prefer this look and it comes out pretty good all things considered.

Highly recommend watching a professional doing this on you tube rather than me trying to type instructions.

Glue it together and let it sit under all of your books/in your press for a while.

If you want to see how the hellmark book turned out check out my other post here. This is it with the dust jacket I made (with my lovely friend Lily) for it.

If anyone has any questions feel free to hit me up. I might not have the best answers but I will try my hardest to point you in the right direction.

[redreart]

Everything we know about Staci Pratt

Some time ago, I wrote all the stuff you can possibly know about Staci Pratt (everything that was deleted and hard to notice from the first play). But it was in another language so I decided to translate it lol.

Also, I'm really inspired by @lulu2992 posts, because I'm still obsessed with fc5 lore as well

So, let's begin. I'm going to use some materials from other people on Tumblr and I'm going to leave links to their original posts and mention them in the credits later on.

Everything we CAN find in the game

At the very beginning of the game, while still in the helicopter, Pratt jokes about our Dep and offers Hudson to drink something from a flask, maybe an alcoholic beverage. (maybe the flask is to blame for the helicopter crash, lol). And note that Pratt is the main pilot of the helicopter (because he sits on the right).

Screenshot by @llazyneiph

Based on everything, we can conclude that Stacy is not affected by depression and probably is not a part of Eden's Gate at this point in the game. Although from another angle we can see that the flask he holds in his hands has an Eden's Gate cross on the other side, I assume Ubi were just too lazy to create another texture just for that scene.

Screenshot by @llazyneiph

While leaving the helicopter to go follow the sheriff Pratt may say something if you stay there for too long.

Staci Pratt: Suck it up, rookie! Get your head out of your ass and get up to the church. The fuck you doing? Follow the sheriff. Jesus...

When we meet Stacy after the failed attempt to put Joe in jail, he is already serving Jacob it is not clear why the box does not work on him, although then in one cutscene Only You from the loudspeaker has an effect on him. The game does not provide an answer to this question, although hypothetically this can be associated with deleted content, which will be discussed a little bit later.

Please this this amazing post by @lulu2992 because it summarizes what I want to say here

at.tumblr.com/lulu2992/i-feel-there-is-something-about-deputy-staci/pxihfpi1xgp4

And just a quick thing about Jacob.

In oasistrings (you can find it here text.farcry.info) Jacob call's Pratt "peaches" just once and I found no explanation except my own assumptions.

But the most obvious reason is that Jacob uses this to break Pratt. I mean he's already in a bad state but Jacob is just pushing it further. But also It's interesting that Staci likes Peaches the cougar. She's the only animal companion that he's positive about. This part is kind of cut from the game though because Pratt usually stays in the bunker. But if you'll have him as a companion with the help of the Resistance Mod he'll def comment on the animal you're with.

Another interesting thing was noticed by @hopecountyradio. Idk myself, but it is really worth mentioning. In the very first cutscene with Jacob, someone is carrying our Dep. @hopecountyradio thinks that it is Pratt who does it.

I've made a little collage so you guys can compare the shoes.

Just a bunch of random short facts that ARE in the game

Staci is 26 years old

He wears a wristband

He used to be or is a catholic because he knows the "Ave, Maria" prayer (you can listen to him praying here, Ave, Maria is the second one) which is most common amongst Catholics in the US (thanks @noire610 for telling me this)

Content that was deleted from the game

Let's start with the analysis of audio. Interestingly, not all of this ended up in the oasis strings.

Let's start with this interesting thing provided by @voices-of-hope-county. There are several dialogues between the peggies, Pratt and peggies, and even Jacob and peggies. All of them are united by the fact that they took place (should have happened) in the Veterans Center. Only one of them is available in oasis strings. I could not find the rest in the text file. Let's start.

Audio 1

Dialogue 1 | Audio 1:

Female peggie: Can you fucking believe that guy? Male peggie: Who? FP: The Deputy… Pratt. He was wandering around behind the cages. MP: The fuck was he doing there? FP: Who the hell knows? Jacob's probably got him off doing some shit. MP: Hahahah… He's lucky to put two words together after what Jacob did to him. FP: Seriously… Sometimes I think it's a mistake to put so much trust in this converts. You should come willing to the light, or be struck down. MP: Amen to that, sister.

Dialogue 2 | Audio 1 (can be found in oasisstrings):

Dialogue 3 | Audio 1

Staci Pratt: Hey… I need to get in. Male Peggie: Seriously? Didn't I just let you out? SP: There's a new prisoner… I gotta go get him. For Jacob. MP: Fine… Get going. Just leave me the fuck alone.

Dialogue 4 | Audio 1 (It sounds like Pratt knows the person he's talking to well)

Male Peggie: Don't this fucking dogs ever shut up? Staci Pratt: They're called Judges. MP: They are still fucking dogs. SP: Have you ever seen them kill? Those are more than just dogs, my friend. MP: Well… They still stank like dogs. Good Lord… Huh… Anyone cleans those cages? SP: Are you volunteering? MP: Fuck no! Haha… Are you kidding? SP: Then stop complaining.

Dialogue 5 | Audio 1 (It sounds like Pratt knows the person he's talking to well)

Staci Pratt: How does it look? Male Peggie: Not good. SP: What does that mean? Do we need a new one? MP: Not sure… We might be able to get away with just replacing the belt. SP: Right… And how long will that last? MP: Well… It might buy us a couple weeks. SP: Or… It may just blow up tomorrow. And then where will we be? MP: Up shits creek without a paddle. SP: So what do we tell Jacob? MP: We'll replace the whole fucking thing. It's the only way to be sure.

They're probably repairing a car because they're discussing timing belt.

Although the last dialogue in the audio does not involve Pratt, it does include Jacob and an explanation of how the converts are treated.

Dialogue 6 | Audio 1

Jacob Seed: Anything to report? Male Peggie: Sir. Truck just pulled up n' dropped of a bunck of new prisoners. JS: Recruits. MP: What? JS: We call them recruits. Soon they'll be a part of our army… Part of the Project. You need to respect that. MP: Ye… Yes, Sir. Of course, Sir. JS: I'm going down to see how the process is going. I'll be back soon.

As we can see there was plenty of stuff that should've happened in Jacob's region.

Audio 2

Staci Pratt: It's just gonna get harder… They want an offering. A sacrifice… I'm trying… I'm trying my best. You have to know that!.. I'm sorry.

Probably was talking to our Dep.

Audio 3

Starts after the prayers somewhere around here

Staci Pratt: The whole time I was locked in that room I just kept thinking about how I got here. You know why I became a cop? To get laid. That was it. It was a whim. And then... after awhile, I tried to convince myself that I did it for the greater good. To help people. But I can't. I know that now. Jacob taught me that... I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore... I don't even know who I am. I don't know what we're supposed to do now. Protect and serve? Out here? There's no law anymore, Rook. Look around! Someone should've been here by now. Nobody gives a shit about what's happening here. We're on our own. Survival of the fittest. Weak and the strong.

(I would love to meet these badge bunnies in Hope County ngl. Probably Adelaide eas one of them)

Also as @lulu2992 notices Pratt's name in game files is spelled Stacy.

Previous character designs

@hopecountyradio extracted a bunch of videos of Pratt's confession.

The first version is this one:

Also in this vid Jacob has greenish eyes

The second version is this one

Has an amazing Eden's Gate intro

And Staci looks like that:

A general conclusion can be drawn from all three versions, incl. the one that was included in the final version of the game, even though the water is hard to see there. Stacy was electrocuted here, so when we rescue him in the Armory that's another reason why he blows the control panel.

Thank ya'll for reading 🖤 I would love to chat about it and add info if you know something/can provide something I haven't mentioned

I used materials from @lulu2992 , @hopecountyradio , @voices-of-hope-county and text.farcry.info

[dynared]

Hello! I'm sorry if you're tired of this topic, but I can't help but be glad that I'm seeing more and more people criticizing IDW comics!

Once I also wrote a post about criticism of these comics, and my main problem was that there is absolutely no lore in these comics, and if there is anything, it is very little.

I just can't believe that for so long the authors haven't brought anything to the transformers lore. During this really huge amount of time and an impressive list of issues, I expected just a ton of worked-out world and everything else. And as a result, the depth of the lore was approximately equal to the depth of the drying puddle.

I don't understand why many fans praise these comics for the politics and the worked-out world, when this is absolutely not the case. Politics is mainly based on some personal conflicts and intrigues, we practically do not immerse ourselves in the structure and work of the political apparatus, ideas, influence on social structures and lifestyle, the response of different segments of the population to this. No, I understand it's difficult and the age audience is not suitable, but maybe you can't make the central theme of comics something that you can't describe and don't understand how it works?

The authors do not know how to describe a truly alien race and, despite their hatred of human characters, have made Cybertronians so similar to humans that it is absurd.

For example, why is functionalism bad? I understand why this would be bad for humans, but why for another species whose lifestyle should be completely different? In fact, this is the most logical way of life for an alien race, because what is the alternative? Is there an alternative? Can Cybertron switch to equipping itself with conventional technology? What will the Cybertronians who are released from work do, what other jobs and activities are there? The authors do not go into this much and we do not see clear ideas of what a Cybertron society should be without functionalism. Well, or I didn't have enough of what the authors gave me.

But well, we have functionalism. Why is it that the elite of society under this regime are mostly the owners of "useless" altmods? Why not those who transform into scientific or very powerful military equipment? In general, under such conditions, the power on the planet would have been seized by the military part of society long ago.

It's not worth talking about the fact that the usual daily life of Cybertronians is described in almost no way. Along with the culture, we have received very little information about it.

Oh, maybe we know something about the transformers themselves then, right? Not really. Basically you can only find headcanon materials. And what about IDW? Maybe they offered us their glossary, terms, schemes? No, there's nothing. Moreover, already at that time, fans on the forums came up with everything and drew the structure of transformers, and the IDW authors were too lazy to even steal any ideas, except for a few.

But if the authors can't work with these topics, do they describe relationships and love well? Again, no, literally all relationships are either built from scratch, or do not develop, or are full of manipulation, deception and emotional swings (yes, everyone's favorite "the only good" pair of Chromedome X Rewind), or end in nothing, as if nothing ever happened. And it doesn't depend on whether it was a gay relationship or a completely straight one, all the relationships there are very poorly written. If this, like Arcee, is a representation, then it looks more like a direct insult.

And, by the way, if love is for everyone, then where is the love between a transformer and a human? Oh yes, authors hate humans. Love is not for everyone!

And in general, it's good, the authors want to add love and romance, but it needs to be justified! Love relationships are not a necessary phenomenon for species, a lot of stars have to come together for this kind of social interaction to be like that. How did the Cybertronians come to this when they don't have any prerequisites for it? How did they get the Conjux Endura ritual (or did you want to say "bonding"? ;) ).Why does such a strict government, as we were told, disapprove, but not prohibit such types of relations, if in all other respects it is totalitarian and cruel?

How do Cybertronian diseases work? Why did Ratchet die of this disease, but not the characters older than him? This point is generally very similar to a cheap way to soften the reader.

I can go on like this endlessly, but I'll stop here. Roberts is not just a fanfiction writer, he is a very mediocre  fanfiction writer who may have a couple of interesting ideas, but lacks the talent to show them. And then, ordinary average writers understand what they are doing and why, and do not get paid for it. It's even more insulting for the authors of fanfiction, who, even for the sake of their strange plots and ideas, try and spin like they're on a frying pan, go out of their skin, coming up with a justification for everything inside the fanfiction. Roberts can't do that.

In the end, I respect the Kiss Players more because the author knew perfectly well what he was doing and wanted to anger the audience, and the audience reacted appropriately. The authors of the IDW comics thought they were doing something smart and great, but they weren't. But the audience presents it as something great.

P.S. I apologize for the mistakes, I use a translator.

There is no need to apologize, you managed to point out the issues with IDW Transformers and why no one really bothered to read them outside of that specific hardcore audience, and not even a general hardcore audience, but an audience that agreed with one specific interpretation of the material, and everyone who had other interpretations could go suck a lemon.

I’ve said it before, this is a prime example of “Writing a comic about a comic” where the use of lore and specific characterizations is so specific to the franchise that any story that is told is Greek to anyone outside of the bubble, which accounts for IDW’s horrible sales. Skybound’s story so far has been criticized by some hardcore fans as a G1 redux, but even if it is, it’s still a well told story with universal themes, consistent, easy to understand characterizations, and characters that are likable for the heroes and hatable for the villains. It has a clear tone, something both IDW and IDW2 failed at utterly. Roberts, meanwhile was a terrible writer, but he was good at engaging the audience the same way fanfic writers do, focusing on the relationships that get the most dialogue, and leaving openings for others to fill in, via discussion or their own fic. But that’s useless when it comes to engaging a general audience. Most of the audience didn’t want to do the work of filling in the holes themselves, they wanted to have the story do that, or at least provide enough context to paint a picture.

As for Kiss Players, while I don’t know if he wanted to purposefully offend the audience or just create shock value, it was a side story comic. It didn’t shape shows afterwards causing them to tank, and doesn’t have people looking at the last show aired and yawning out of sheer boredom.

[westmeath]

lol since i was asking before about social media alternatives and what people like to use i went to look up two old ones i had likeee probably in 2015/2016 but never used which was ello and peach and it turns out ello died last year and the peach app is like... apparently people still use it but it's "not available for [my] device" on the play store, their twitter hasn't updated since 2019 and when i go to their website it redirects to this. interesting

anyway for my own resource i'm putting a list of other ones i'm aware of here. if any of you use these and have any thoughts on them feel free to let me know i'm interested in this :]

mastodon - having countless different "instances" that all require a different login is confusing. i made accounts in 2018 on mastodon.social (the main one) and one on mastodon.cloud and i don't even know what the second one is or how it's different. also can't change your username so i have a danganronpa one forever

bluesky - another twitter clone. just fine idk

cohost - i Like This One because it's cute and does something different (i.e. isn't just twitter again like the others LOL) more blog-like i find which i enjoy. and fun personalisation where i think you can do almost basically whatever you want with html/css? it seems to have a much nicer atmosphere among the userbase than mastodon and bluesky do too

the only thing i really don't like atm is how the likes/shares on posts are completely invisible even on your OWN posts... like whatever about other peoples posts that's fine but i'd like to see on my Own Post if it's being shared around with someone else's comment on it or something? i dunno... it'd be nice if it was an opt in/out thing but idk if they'd ever even do that since having that stuff be invisible is their Whole Thing

telegram - ?? i have no idea about this one. i thought it was just an instant messaging app like whatsapp but i've seen people talk about it like it has some kind of feed so....? dunno!

plurk - been around much longer than the others (2008) yet i've never seen anyone talk about it before. based in taiwan so a rare non-american social media site which is always a plus. i made an account last night out of curiosity but i find it a little hard to navigate and it has an.. interesting layout

^ using this guy as a way to break up the post a bit. heart emoji

then there's the art-based social media apps.. i think there's probably quite a few of these but the ones i Personally know are cara.app, sheezy.art (cheers janssi JDNJDF), artfol.co

i don't know if artstation counts but i didn't like how professional that one felt LOL bit too scary for me. cara kindaaaa gives off that vibe too but i haven't had more than a cursory glance at it so! i have an artfol account but i would always forget to update it so it's not been used for 2 years.. i WILL make a sheezy so soon just been busy/lazy

anywaysssss idgaf about the others i mentioned honestly but I REALLY LIKE COHOSTTTTT MAKE AN ACCOUNT AND FOLLOW ME ON COHOST

[crazykuroneko]

What I like about IWTV is it forces me to re-evaluate my relationship with media and fandom as well. Through S1, I learnt how far I want to distance myself from the media yet still be able to enjoy it (too lazy to link my old post, but it thanks to S1E5). Now, I find myself paying attention to the connection between the media and the fandom's "voice".

Back then, I went into S1 completely blind, and I have to admit I wasn't (am still, I think) that familiar with Black media, Black stories, or Black history. I literally didn't know even one (1) individual in the fandom. So a lot of my initial conclusions and impressions of S1 mostly came from what I saw on my timeline/dashboard aka the things people reblogged/retweeted the most, the "popular" contents. And as the time goes by, I realized those contents are actually fanon; They're made based on someone's interpretation and expectation of canon, and they get blown out, and they eventually shape the fandom's "consensus". And I found that to be so misleading. Especially in a lot of cases they're contradictory and feel like an overcorrection to another. And it took me like months of curating my own timeline - blocking and being blocked, applying my newfound distance with media, reading/watching opinions from different kinds of people and rewatching the series until I could say this is my core opinion/beliefs of this media and these characters.

And it's happening again this season. IWTV is a very rich story which is open to very different interpretations, and it's easy for you to just want to "go with the flow". Go with the metas you see the most on your timeline. But as much as I appreciate good metas, and I have shared them all here, sometimes there are nuances that I can't agree with. So, I don't want to read them too much. I feel like the writing in this show deserves to be judged as itself - free from previous fanon, book canon, theories or expectations. I don't really know where I am going with this actually, but I think "let the tale seduce you" is really the right way to process this show. Like, watch it, write down what you take from it, stick to what you wrote, and see how the show evolves your perspective. Anyway, idk, I'm just looking forward to rewatching S1-S2 and making my own conclusion.

[stergeon]

HOW TO PLAY

Last updated 5/3/2024

What is this?

This is a collaborative story about Hubert von Vestra from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The goal of the game is to help Hubert have a perfectly normal day without too much excitement or fanfare.

The story progresses based on the results of the poll at the end of each chapter. The gameplay is intended to emulate old text-based adventure games (and, yes, Homestuck).

Mostly, this is an excuse for me to draw silly stuff and make stupid websites.

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What do I do?

Be Hubert.

Vote for the action you want Hubert to take.

????

Profit

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OK but seriously how do you play this?

I'll draw a panel and write a post. The end of the post will contain a poll or other question to decide where the story goes next.

You can help direct the story by:

Voting in the poll

Providing a custom response in the post tags or replies

Asking for clarification or details via ask or by replying to the post, ex. in the replies on this post

In each post, words that appear in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS have definitions in Hubert's JOURNAL. The first time a defined word appears in a post, it will link to the part in the journal where the definition appears. Any subsequent time the word appears in the post, it will only be BOLDED AND CAPITALIZED.

The post may also contain links to minigames I've made (ex. the coffee game) or to other pages on my website that are related to the game (ex. Hubert's inventory, aka his pocket). I don't intend to link to any other websites, but if I do end up linking to another site in the post, I'll give a heads up.

Depending on the choices made in the story, Hubert's mental state may be affected. You will want to keep that in mind when voting. Remember: YOU are Hubert. And you want to have a perfectly normal day.

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How does voting work?

Options for Hubert to take will be listed in a poll at the end of each post. The poll duration will be one day. When the time has elapsed, Hubert will take the highest-voted action. I'll write/draw how it plays out, then post a new poll to choose the next action.

Polls will have a minimum of four options representing potential actions for Hubert to take. Three or more will be preset options, and the last will be an "Other/Write-In" option for a custom response.

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How does the Other/Write-In/Something Else option work?

If you vote for Other in the poll, please provide the action you want Hubert to take by leaving a reply on the post or in the tags.

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If the Other/Write-In/Something Else option wins, how will a response be selected?

I don't know yet! We'll find out together. Either I'll take the most common response, I'll pick one at random, or I'll just choose the one I think is funniest.

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How will the story play out?

I have an outline for the story. To the best of my ability, I'm going to try and keep it on track, but I'm leaving most of it to the winds of chance. If things start to really get off-track, I may eliminate the write-in option and just give three preset choices, but here's hoping it doesn't come to that.

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When does the game update?

The game will update after the current poll has expired and whenever I get around to drawing and writing the response. I'm making an attempt to turn things around in 24-48 hours after the poll ends, but who knows how long I'll keep that up.

Note that many of the pages for game mechanics, such as the JOURNAL and Mind Wasteland, are updated almost as often as new posts are made, depending on how the story plays out. You might want to keep an eye on those.

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Something is broken/not working on one of the webpages.

UH-OH! That's not good!

If you run into any problems with the site(s), please refresh the page and, if it's still not working, check back in 5-10 minutes. I'm coding this like a lazy person (read: rawdogging it without version control—yeehaw!) so it's entirely possible that if something is busted, it's because I'm actively tinkering with the site.

If it stays busted for more than 5-10 minutes, or if you run into responsiveness or accessibility issues, please shoot me a DM or an ask and I'll try to get it fixed shortly. Your help is appreciated!

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I have a question about the current poll options/a game mechanic.

Send me your question via a reply on the post or an ask and I'll get you an answer :0)

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STORY DETAILS

What knowledge do I need going into this game?

The game is set just over two years after the end of Fire Emblem: Three House’s Crimson Flower route. Consider that route utterly spoiled.

There may be references to events that have happened in my post-war fanfic series, In the Days After. However, you don't need to have read the series to know what's going on in the game. Hubert will also keep notes on anything that is relevant in his journal and you can reference the information there.

(FYI: the journal, minigames, and related tools are not hosted on tumblr and are instead on my own website for formatting/organization purposes. I'll give a heads up if linking to any pages not on this blog or my own website.)

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Does this include DLC or FEW: Three Hopes content?

Sorry, I’m a fake fan. I haven’t played Three Hopes or the FE3H DLC and have a child’s knowledge of what happens in either of those games. I’m sticking with my area of expertise.

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What ships appear in this game?

It's my story and I'm gonna make it gay. As of, uhhh, right now, these are the confirmed ships:

Hubert / Ferdinand

Edelgard / F!Byleth

Dorothea / Petra

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RESOURCES

Links

Beginning of the story

All posts up to this point

Tools and mechanics

The tools listed below are updated almost every time a new post is made, depending on how the story progresses.

Hubert's Journal

To-Do List

Mind Wasteland

Pocket

Games

Games probably won't get updated again unless I get a sudden burst of inspiration or if there's a bug. If there's a bug, please let me know via ask or emailing me at stergeonGeneral@gmail.com.

Dress-up

Make a cup of coffee

[ntls-24722]

hello lgbtq community its ur (almost) daily music man content

Scopophobia and general body horror beware!

WD Gaster DJMM!

Honestly, this was literally just based off the fact I saw WD gaster artwork. For a guy with multiple hands Gaster just makes sense to be my latest victim of Music Man'ification. He was going to be a centipede because centipedes are terrifying but I opted for a snake because i was too lazy to draw a kajillion little hands (even though i've made millipede music men... two)

Buuuut the snake aspect also helps with another little detail - as a focus on Gaster's experience on being yote across time and space, his body extends infinitely, across the cosmos, different realities, different timelines. His body is likely to be found as a black line across space but as he gets more lost his face remains almost never seen.

Long.

@linxprime's Space Guard DJMM!

I notice more details that I missed the more i look at this. I missed two whole arms! and i wish i could've shown his freaky two-thumbed hands, but these were all done in school and i had limited references. I'm probably redrawing your guy tomorrow because there's just simply TOO MANY mistakes.

Though I seriously have to ask you how you came up with the pant contraption. I feel like spiders are one of the the most ridiculous creatures on Earth you could attempt putting pants on and somehow you figured it out.

Pink Legacy! One of the few music men in my roster whose story i can actually explain in a single post.

They're not Music Man - They don't take the role or name of him. But they did take his head and are now wearing it like a trophy!

Way back before Pizzeria Simulator, before Music Man was even auctioned, someone noticed his suspicious demeanor and began to work at the company that created him to be able to secretly inspect him. They cracked him open one night and realized in classic FNAF fashion, "oh shit, there's bodies in this robot" and said robot proceeded to smash their skull between his cymbals before they could squeal about it to anyone, leaving their body to rot in secret.

The insects that aided in their decomposition, for some weird reason, ate them and received their memories. Memories of how to move, how to think like a person, and the very last thing they remember - getting totally murdered. Taking over the rest of their corpse they became this horrific bug colony and turned Music Man into scrap metal and wore his head as a trophy like the freak bug colony they are.

However, while they had their revenge, now as this new being they were haunted by the memories of not what was within him but the person they used to be, with attempts to come back to the friends and family ending in said friends and family being horrified of what just arrived at their doorstep. Eventually they had to flee to the wilderness and leave their humanity behind, though this bug colony began to embrace their new existence (Despite their appearance, Pink Legacy is just a creepy ass hippie).

But eventually humanity finds them again with a high schooler named Tillie finding Pink Legacy in the wilderness, and, despite the creepy haunted atmosphere constantly oozing out of PL, Tillie is admittedly too fascinated by them to not try and fuck around a little.

Despite PL's creepy vocabulary and... everything about them, somehow Tillie is able to discover that PL is harmless and the worst they will do is accidentally cause an ant infestation in your home.

[rakassauce]

A weird ass idea came to me suddenly at 2 in the morning

So. I have this old touhou AU that I made in like...8th grade, I think? It was basically an aftermath AU of a fan game that interested me, called Concealed the Conclusion. Basically the gist™️ of it was that Gensokyo was all in Reimu's head, and she's dying so it was all falling apart so Marisa's trying to find her before it's too late—sorry for the shit explanation but hopefully you get the idea, I have not touched a thing related to it in ages

Idk why but I want to revamp it? It's a very, VERY vague au, I never did much with it, but like I kind of wanna build on it for funsies—and instead of it basically being a direct fan story for a touhou fangame (fan work-ception?) it'd be like...loosely based off of it. Or maybe heavily. You decide at this point

But see. Here's the part that makes it questionable imo;

YU-GI-OH CROSSOVER.

Based on what I repost AND the art I rarely do post, y'all already know I've been in the Yu-Gi-Oh obsession hell hole for a year straight. It's been a comfort to me in tough times, as has Touhou in the past. I actually got into Touhou during a rough patch of junior high. Been in love with the world of children's card games and youkai ever since. (I've just never posted my touhou fanart lol, it's all old) That being said, I am a fucking SUCKER for crossovers. I LOVE the idea of seeing two or more of my favorite cartoons, books, or games, interacting or even working with one another. It's just difficult to find a good (or active) fic / official work that satisfies my strange niches

So. Onto the AU (please keep in mind this isn't fleshed out at ALL, I thought about this in the shower randomly) :

Gensokyo has...not been doing so hot, as of recent. Terrible weather, weaker youkai, and hell, even weaker magic. Worst of all? Aweakening Hakurei Barrier. Many are perplexed—even Gensokyo's sharper, more cunning minds. It seems the land of eastern fantasy has only been falling apart—so our beloved Hakurei shrine maiden takes it upon herself to investigate, thinking it's just another incident to be handled and dealt with.

Then she disappears. No where to be seen.

Marisa for once is actually...kind of worried. As soon as things seem suspicious, she's out searching, looking for her dear friend. Sure she was a lazy bum at times, but she wouldn't up and leave with no explanation, right?

...right?

Alright, this is where things get vague, since what I just typed was basically a synopsis of the AU—and now that I'm reading it over, BASICALLY CONCEALED THE CONCLUSION. MOVING ON, somewhere along the line, Sakuya and Yukari get involved. They find Reimu, weakened by whatever it was (forgive me I'm sorryyyy) hurting Gensokyo. Her powers are dull—but with some help, she does sort of get back on her feet.

Things seem to be getting better.

And then they weren't.

At the end of it all, Gensokyo is...frozen. Stuck in stone, sealed. The only surviving residents? Reimu, Marisa, and Sakuya. Why? Because with what very little strength she has left—without so much as a warning—Yukari opens a gap to the outside world from underneath them.

With that, comes the end of Gensokyo. Or so it seems. One can't be so sure.

The three are separated. Where, is hard to say. All Marisa knows...is that she's just an ordinary girl, living in Domino City with a foster family—after being found lost in the streets with no living relatives to contact.

Will I go the amnesia route? I have no idea yet—though the idea DOES seem interesting (to me at least)

Not sure WHY this spawned in my lil brain. All I know is that the idea of Reimu and Marisa NOT being able to bounce back A-OK from an encounter has always got the gears in my head going. Probably why I liked Concealed the Conclusion so much (even though I WILL admit it IS kind of mid)

Jesus I need to put this in an obsidian vault

OK that's all for tonight, thank you for reading :D I MIGHT add more, this took more courage than I thought it would��idk how you writers manage to do this